YAG:Ce3+-ZnO composite phosphor-in-glass (PiG) films for high-quality laser-driven white light

The realization of high-quality laser-driven white light remains challenging due to the limited heat dispersion and inconsistent light uniformity of color converters. In this study, ZnO particles with high thermal conductivity and a high index of refraction were induced into phosphor-in-glass (PiG) films to form a Y3Al5O12 (YAG):Ce3+ZnO composite structure. The influences of ZnO particles on the luminescence, optical properties, thermal dissipation performance, and light uniformity of PiG films were studied in detail. Benefiting from the improved thermal dissipation, the luminescence saturation threshold of the YAG:Ce3+ PiG film was improved from 10.97 to 12.96 W/mm2, and the luminous flux was improved from 1271 to 1468 lm. The increased light scattering attributed to ZnO particles also effectively dispersed both laser and emitted light. This significantly enhanced the angular consistency of the color rendering index (Ra) and correlated color temperature (CCT). It indicates that the YAG:Ce3+-ZnO composite PiG film would be an interesting color converter for producing high-quality laserdriven white light.