II-VI semiconductor color converters for efficient green, yellow, and red light emitting diodes

II-VI compound semiconductor quantum-well heterostructures were fabricated for use as efficient, narrow-spectrum, photoluminescent color converters to generate green, yellow, or red light when photopumped with blue GaInN light emitting diodes (LEDs). This approach promises high efficiencies in a wide range of wavelengths that includes the green-yellow portion of the spectrum where conventional LEDs offer relatively low efficiency. External quantum conversion efficiencies of 60%-70% and output spectra with full width at half maximum of 15 nm were achieved using CdZnSe-CdMgZnSe quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InP substrates. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3453447]