A review on the advancements in phosphor-converted light emitting diodes (pc-LEDs): Phosphor synthesis, device fabrication and characterization

This article puts emphasis on the role of phosphors in the advancement of Light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The increasing use of phosphors in LEDs, consequently, led to the nomenclature of phosphor-converted LEDs (pc-LEDs). This article makes a thorough discussion about the various methods employed for the synthesis of phosphors and the materials involved in the fabrication of pc-LEDs. A review on the various color-emitting phosphors has been exclusively made to understand the combinations of host materials with luminescent ion dopants that are essential to produce a specific color-emission of interest. There is a brief outlook on the various characteristics and indexes associated with the color quality and performance of pc-LEDs. The challenges faced by pc-LEDs and the advances made to overcome them have also been discussed. On the parallel, other variants of LEDs have started to show up with more promising features than pc-LEDs; but those are yet to accomplish a place in the LED industry due to the lackluster observed in their stability and lifetime. This article will brief the records on such new variants of LEDs assuming that these issues will be resolved in the near future and establish them as the next-generation of LEDs.