Luminescence Characteristics of YAG Glass–Ceramic Phosphor for White LED

Luminescence characteristics of Ce:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG) glass-ceramic (GC) phosphor for a white LED were investigated. The GC phosphor was obtained by a heat treatment of a Ce-doped SiO₂-Al₂ O₃-Y₂O₃ mother glass between 1300degC and 1500degC for the prescribed time period. The quantum efficiency (QE) of Ce³⁺ fluorescence in the GC materials, the color coordinate, and the luminous flux of electroluminescence of LED composite were evaluated with a blue LED (465 nm) set in an integrating sphere. The QE increased with increasing ceramming temperature of the as-made glass. The color coordinates (x, y) of the composite were increased with increasing thickness of the GC mounted on a blue LED chip. The effect of Gd₂O₃ substitution on the optical properties of the GC materials was also investigated. The excitation and emission wavelengths shifted to longer side up to Gd/(Y + Gd) = 0.40 in molar composition. As a result, the color coordinate of the LED with GdYAG-GC of various thickness shifted to closer to the Planckian locus for the blackbody radiation. These results were explained by partial substitution of Gd³⁺ ions in the precipitated YAG microcrystals, leading to the increase of lattice constant of unit cell, which was confirmed by XRD.