Ce:YScAG phosphor-converted transparent ceramics with high thermal saturation and weak concentration quenching for LED and LD white lighting

In the high-power white light LEDs/LDs area, obtaining phosphor-converted materials with high thermal stability and high luminous emittance with proper blue/yellow light ratio has been the main challenge in recent years. In this study, a group of (Ce x Y 1-x ) 3 (Sc y Al 1-y ) 5 O 12 transparent ceramics with high optical quality were proposed to rise to that challenge. Their spectra were regulated by incorporating Sc 3+ , showing blue shifted emission bands (peak position from 554 nm–538 nm), blue shifted excitation bands (462–445 nm) and narrowed full width at half maxima (120–112 nm). Significantly, the prepared Ce:YScAG transparent ceramics (TC) exhibited decent thermal quenching performance with the photoluminescence intensity at 150 °C maintaining 88.7% of its original value at room temperature. The Sc incorporation impacted the atoms’ occupation and distance, crystal field splitting and energy band structure . Under remote LD excitation mode, the luminous efficiency of the prepared Ce:YScAG TC can achieve 164.8 lm/W. And even if the Ce 3+ doping reaches 2.0 at%, the LE can still maintain 117.8 lm/W, exhibiting decent concentration quenching characteristic. Consequently, Ce:YScAG TCs have great potential as promising phosphor-converted materials in future high-power LED and LD white lighting.