Closing the Cyan Gap Toward Full-Spectrum LED Lighting with NaMgBO3:Ce3+

The photoluminescence spectrum generated by an ordinary phosphor-converted white light-emitting diode (pc-wLED) that combines a blue LED chip with a yellow phosphor or a near-UV LED with red, green, and blue phosphors contains a notable cavity in the cyan region of the visible spectrum (480-520 nm), which reduces the color quality produced by these lights. Here, we report a new bright blue-cyan-emitting phosphor, NaMgBO3:Ce3+, which bridges the gap. Rietveld refinements verify the rare-earth substitution while ab initio calculations prove that Ce3+ occupies the Na+ sites. NaMgBO3:Ce3+ is excited by a broad range of near-UV light sources and produces a blue-cyan emission with a high (internal) quantum efficiency, minimal thermal degradation, and zero-chromaticity drift at elevated temperatures. Fabricating a near-UV (lambda(ex) = 370 nm) pumped pc-wLED using NaMgBO3:Ce3+ along with commercially available phosphors demonstrates a well-distributed warm white light with a high color-rendering index (R-a) of 91 and a low correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3645 K. Closing the cyan cavity with NaMgBO3:Ce3+ is ideal for generating a pleasant, full-spectrum warm white light.