Jiasheng Li

Improving LED CCT uniformity using micropatterned films optimized by combining ray tracing and FDTD methods

Although the light-emitting diode (LED) has revolutionized lighting, the non-uniformity of its correlated color temperature (CCT) still remains a major concern. In this context, to improve the light distribution performance of remote phosphor LED lamps, we employ a micropatterned array (MPA) optical film fabricated using a low-cost molding process. The parameters of the MPA, including different installation configurations, positioning, and diameters, are optimized by combining the finite-difference time-domain and ray-tracing methods. Results show that the sample with the upward-facing convex-cone MPA film that has a diameter of half of that of the remote phosphor glass, and is tightly affixed to the inward surface of the remote phosphor glass renders a superior light distribution performance. When compared with the case in which no MPA film is used, the deviation of the CCT distribution decreases from 1033 K to 223 K, and the corresponding output power of the sample is an acceptable level of 85.6%. We perform experiments to verify our simulation results, and the two sets of results exhibit a close agreement. We believe that our approach can be used to optimize MPA films for various lighting applications.

A Detailed Study on Phosphor-Converted Light-Emitting Diodes With Multi-Phosphor Configuration Using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain and Ray-Tracing Methods

Although the optical simulations have been widely adopted to study phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pcLEDs), to the best of our knowledge, there is no study that investigates the pcLED model considering the effect of phosphor particles with irregular shapes. In order to explore this topic, we employ the finite-difference time-domain method to characterize the phosphor-converted element (PCE) model. Furthermore, the PCE-based pcLED with YAG:Ce and nitride phosphors is investigated by the ray-tracing method. The results show that the rod-shaped nitride phosphor can scatter incident light to larger angles compared with the spherical YAG:Ce phosphor of the same size. In turn, their different scattering and absorption characterizations cause that the mixing concentration of the phosphors has a significant effect on the correlative color temperature and light output power of the pcLED.

Color uniformity enhancement for COB WLEDs using a remote phosphor film with two freeform surfaces

The color uniformity (CU) of chip-on-board (COB) white light emitting diodes (WLEDs) has been improved by using remote phosphor films with two freeform surfaces (TFS-RPFs). The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), Monte Carlo ray-tracing, and color-thickness feedback (CTFB) methods were used to design the TFS-RPFs: the blue light distribution of COB WLEDs is greatly affected by the angular thickness distribution of TFS-RPFs, and a high CU can be achieved iteratively. The directional inconsistency of incident and emergent blue light, scattering effect of TFS-RPFs, and illumination characteristics of the COB source were also investigated. COB WLEDs containing optimized TFS-RPFs achieved high CU with a decrease of 26.2% in maximum CCT deviation; thus, TFS-RPFs can improve the CU of COB WLEDs.

ACU Optimization of pcLEDs by Combining the Pulsed Spray and Feedback Method

In this paper, the pulse-sprayed (PS) phosphor coating technique and feedback method were combined to optimize the angular color uniformity of remote phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pcLEDs). The geometry of the phosphor-converted element (PCE) was controlled by the PS technique and the curvature of the phosphor bearing surface. Meanwhile, the yellow and blue light irradiance distributions are as the feedback function to optimize the mass distribution of the PS PCE during the feedback iteration process. With the method proposed herein, the correlative color temperature of the optimized remote pcLED ranges from 5192 to 5263 K with a maximum deviation of only 71 K.

Full spectral optical modeling of quantum-dot-converted elements for light-emitting diodes considering reabsorption and reemission effect

Quantum dots (QDs) have attracted significant attention in light-emitting diode (LED) illumination and display applications, owing to their high quantum yield and unique spectral properties. However, an effective optical model of quantum-dot-converted elements (QDCEs) for (LEDs) that entirely considers the reabsorption and reemission effect is lacking. This suppresses the design of QDCE structures and further investigation of light-extraction/conversion mechanisms in QDCEs. In this paper, we proposed a full spectral optical modeling method for QDCEs packaged in LEDs, entirely considering the reabsorption and reemission effect, and its results are compared with traditional models without reabsorption or reemission. The comparisons indicate that the QDCE absorption loss of QD emission light is a major factor decreasing the radiant efficacy of LEDs, which should be considered when designing QDCE structures. According to the measurements of fabricated LEDs, only calculation results that entirely consider reabsorption and reemission show good agreement with experimental radiant efficacy, spectra, and peak wavelength at the same down-conversion efficiency. Consequently, it is highly expected that QDCE will be modeled considering the reabsorption and reemission events. This study provides a simple and effective modeling method for QDCEs, which shows great potential for their structure designs and fundamental investigations.

Study on Scattering and Absorption Properties of Quantum-Dot-Converted Elements for Light-Emitting Diodes Using Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method

CdSe/ZnS quantum-dot-converted elements (QDCEs) are good candidates for substituting rare-earth phosphor-converted elements (PCEs) in white light-emitting diodes (LEDs); however, studies on their scattering and absorption properties are scarce, suppressing further increment in the optical and thermal performance of quantum-dot-converted LEDs. Therefore, we introduce the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to achieve the critical optical parameters of QDCEs when used in white LEDs; their scattering cross-section (coefficient), absorption cross-section (coefficient), and scattering phase distributions are presented and compared with those of traditional YAG phosphor-converted elements (PCEs) at varying particle size and concentration. At a commonly used concentration (<50 mg/cm3), QDCEs exhibit stronger absorption (tens of millimeters, even for green-to-red-wavelength light) and weaker scattering (<1 mm−1) compared to PCEs; the reabsorption, total internal reflection, angular uniformity, and thermal quenching would be more significant concerns for QDCEs. Therefore, the unique scattering and absorption properties of QDCEs should be considered when used in white LEDs. Furthermore, knowledge of these important optical parameters is helpful for beginning a theoretical study on quantum-dot-converted LEDs according to the ray tracing method.

Improvement in Color-Conversion Efficiency and Stability for Quantum-Dot-Based Light-Emitting Diodes Using a Blue Anti-Transmission Film

In this report, a blue anti-transmission film (BATF) has been introduced to improve the color-conversion efficiency (CCE) and the stability of quantum dot (QD) films. The results indicate that the CCE can be increased by as much as 93% using 15 layers of BATFs under the same QD concentration. Therefore, the same CCE can be achieved using BATF-QD hybrid films with a lower QD concentration when compared with standard QD films. The hybrid and QD films with the same CCE of 60% were aged at an environmental temperature of 25°C and with a 10 mA injection current light-emitting diode source. The CCE and luminous efficacy that are gained by the hybrid film increased by 42.8% and 24.5%, respectively, when compared with that gained by the QD film after aging for the same time period of approximately 65 h. In addition, the hybrid film can effectively suppress the red-shift phenomenon of the QD light spectra, as well as an expansion of the full-width at half maximum. Consequently, these BATF-QD hybrid films with excellent optical performance and stability show great potential for illumination and display applications.

Tuning the emission spectrum of highly stable cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals through poly(lactic acid)-assisted anion-exchange reactions

We demonstrate an organic macromolecule-assisted anion-exchange reaction method for tuning the emission spectrum of cesium lead halide perovskite (CsPbX3) nanocrystals (NCs) from green to near-ultraviolet using a microreactor. Using poly(lactic acid) (PLA), the emission peak of CsPbX3 NCs can be tuned from 514 nm to 420 nm while maintaining high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields (QYs) of 33–90%. By taking advantage of the microreactor, we synthesize parent CsPbBr3 NCs and complete anion-exchange reactions at the same time, which is more efficient than most previously reported methods. The stability of CsPbX3 NCs is improved by PLA coating, especially for CsPbCl3, which shows long-term stability under ambient conditions for at least two weeks. The CsPbBr3 NCs are utilized with a red phosphor on a blue light emitting-diode (LED) chip, achieving white light emission with a luminous efficacy of 62.93 lm W−1 under a 20 mA driving current. Highly efficient white LEDs (wLEDs) demonstrate the potential of halide perovskite NCs for optoelectronic applications, including low-cost displays, lighting, and optical communication.

Effect of ZnO nanostructures on the optical properties of white light-emitting diodes

White light produced by blue LEDs with yellow phosphor is the most widely used methods, but it results in poor quality in angular CCT uniformity. In this work, a novel technique was introduced to solve this problem by integrating different ZnO nanostructures into white light-emitting diodes. The experiment of ZnO doped films and the simulation of Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) were carried out. The result indicated scattering effect of ZnO nanoparticles could improve uniformity of scattering energy effectively. Moreover, the effect of ZnO nanostructures on white light-emitting diodes (wLEDs) devices was also investigated. The CCT deviation of wLEDs devices would decrease from 3455.49 K to 96.30 K, 40.03 K and 60.09 K when the node-like (N-ZnO), sheet-like (S-ZnO) and rod-like ZnO (R-ZnO) respectively applied. The higher CCT uniformity and little luminous flux dropping were achieved when the optimal concentrations of N-ZnO, S-ZnO, and R-ZnO nanostructures were 0.25%, 0.75%, and 0.25%. This low-cost and green manufacturing method has a great impact on development of white light-emitting diodes.

Improvement in Luminous Efficacy and Thermal Performance Using Quantum Dots Spherical Shell for White Light Emitting Diodes

White light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) based on quantum dots (QDs) are gaining increasing attention due to their excellent color quality. QDs films with planar structure are universally applied in WLEDs for color conversion, while they still face great challenges in high light extraction and thermal stability. In this study, a QDs film with a spherical shell structure was proposed to improve the optical and thermal performance for WLEDs. Compared with the conventional planar structure, the luminous efficacy of the QDs spherical shell structure is improved by 12.9% due to the reduced total reflection effect, and the angular-dependent correlated color temperature deviation is decreased from 2642 to 283 K. Moreover, the highest temperature of the WLED using a QDs spherical shell is 4.8 °C lower than that of the conventional WLED with a planar structure, which is mainly attributed to larger heat dissipation area and separated heat source. Consequently, this QDs spherical shell structure demonstrates superior performance of QDs films for WLEDs applications.