Luminescent Crystals for High-Brightness Laser Based Solid State Lighting

Laser diode (LD) chips do not suffer the "efficiency droop" effects under high-density current driving to the extent that LED chips do, and are therefore considered a promising next-generation solid state lighting source. However, under high energy density laser irradiation, conventional powder and glass phosphors with low thermal conductivity display degraded performance due to undesirable thermal quenching behavior. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop novel crystal phosphors with high efficiency, high thermal stability and especially excellent thermal quenching behavior, high thermal conductivity, long lifetime, and low efficiency droop. It is also important to ensure that LD excited white-light sources have the correct chromatic coordinates located on the blackbody curve, as well as acceptable chromatic index especially low color temperature (Tc). These demands stimulate the need for this special topic.

Guest Editors: Yong Ge Cao, Xueyuan Chen, Quanlin Liu, and Rongjun Xie