Al2O3-Ce:GdYAG composite ceramic phosphors for high-power white light-emitting-diode applications

In order to meet the increasing demand of high-power light-emitting-diode (LED) lighting, state-of-the-art white light-emitting diode technology needs phosphors with high thermal conductivity and high luminous efficacy as color converters. In this work, translucent Al2O3-Ce:GdYAG composite phosphors were prepared by solid-state reactive sintering. The microstructure shows that the Al2O3 particles are uniformly dispersed in the Ce:GdYAG matrix. These particles can not only improve the thermal conductivity of the ceramics, but also promote the extraction efficacy. The luminous characteristics of the Ce:GdYAG and Al2O3-Ce:GdYAG ceramics were analyzed after being packaged with blue LED. When the molar ratio of Al2O3/Ce:GdYAG is 0.8, a high luminous efficacy value of 112.6 lm/W is achieved by the Al2O3-Ce:GdYAG composite ceramic phosphor with the thickness of 0.4 mm, as well as the highest CRI valve of 71.4. The appropriate photoelectric properties of this kind of ceramic phosphor make it a promising candidate for high-power LED device.