Enhancing the optical and thermal performance of Ce:YAG phosphors through multi-component co-doping

High-power phosphor-converted laser lighting and laser display have gained significant attention due to their superior energy efficiency and long lifespan. However, the elevated operating temperatures under high-power excitation induce severe thermal quenching of phosphor materials, compromising the thermal stability and emission performance. To address this issue, we proposed a multi-component co-doping strategy by incorporating Ba²⁺/Si⁴⁺ and Sr²⁺/Si⁴⁺ into Ce: YAG phosphor ceramics. The optimized Sr05Ba050 sample demonstrated exceptional thermal stability, retaining 96.56% of its emission intensity at 423 K. Moreover, the thermal saturation threshold increased to 73 W/mm², significantly surpassing that of undoped Ce: YAG. This improvement is attributed to a combination of lattice stabilization and reduced electron-phonon coupling induced by the co-doping approach. Additionally, the optimized sample achieved a luminous efficiency of radiation (LER) of 248.82 lm/W and exhibited a lower surface temperature under high-power excitation. These findings highlight the effectiveness of Ba²⁺/Si⁴⁺ and Sr²⁺/Si⁴⁺ co-doping in mitigating thermal quenching and enhancing high-temperature performance, providing valuable insights for next-generation high-power lighting and display applications.