Multifunctional phosphor developed for white LED lighting and optical temperature measurement

In the fields of lighting and temperature measurement, advances in material science are paving the way for significant improvements in technology and safety. Traditional methods of combining yellow phosphors and blue chips in LEDs have limitations, such as insufficient red light content to affect color rendering and potential hazards from exposure to blue light.

A multifunctional phosphor has been developed that not only overcomes the limitations of traditional white LEDs but also provides a versatile solution that can be used for visualized thermometers.

Recent research led by senior experimentalist Jingjing Ru and associate professor Bing Zhao of Ningde Normal University introduces a multifunctional material that could revolutionize white LED lighting and optical temperature measurement.

The study, titled “Multicolor Tunable Photothermometry of Ca2Ta2O7:Bi3+/Eu3+ Phosphor and Dual-Functional Application in WLEDs,” was published Sept. 4, 2024, in Frontiers of Optoelectronics.

The team’s work on Bi3+/Eu3+ co-doped Ca2Ta2O7 (CTO:Bi3+/Eu3+) phosphors with tunable color emission from green to red-orange demonstrates a way to achieve tunable color emission, improving the performance of white LEDs and paving the way for optical thermometers.

The thermochromic properties, stability and reproducibility of these phosphors make them particularly suitable for visual thermometer and high temperature safety marking applications.

The construction of high color rendering index white LED devices using CTO:0.04Bi3+/0.16Eu3+ phosphor highlights its potential application in near-UV excited white LED devices.

The discovery of this multifunctional material shows the potential to enable more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and safer lighting solutions, as well as offering potential applications in visual thermometers and high-temperature safety markings.