Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+: a promising phosphor for WLEDs in general lighting applications

The blue-green emitting phosphor Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+, with strong absorption well matching with the near-UV excitation of the LED, is produced using solid-state synthesis. The characterization analysis of the prepared phosphor shows that Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+ with 0.06 doping concentration of Ce3+ ion presents significant absorption centered at 397 nm and broad emission range from blue to green under the near-UV excitation. The large emission wavelength band (456 nm - 500 nm) of Ce3+-doped Y2Si3O3N4 could be owing to the transition from 5d to 4f energy levels of Ce3+ ions. The phosphor is incorporated as the second phosphor material, with yellow-emitting phosphor YAG:Ce3+, to fabricate a single white light -emitting diode (W-LED) structure. The impacts of doping Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+ on the lighting efficiency of the W-LED are investigated. The luminous intensity and color temperature consistency are generally benefitted from the increase of Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+ doping concentration. Conversely, the color rendering indices tend to favor the lower concentration of Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+. The blue-green emitting phosphor Y2Si3O3N4:Ce3+, therefore, can be promising for high-flux lighting applications that require relatively good chromatic rendition.