John F. Kelso

Light extraction from luminescent light sources and application to monolithic ceramic phosphors.

An extension of a theorem for light extraction [Adv. Opt. Technol.2, 291 (2013)] from a higher index luminescent body (LED or phosphor) through an extracting surface into a lower index output medium is derived. The result is valid for both geometric and diffractive surface structures. Using this bound and radiation transport calculations, we show that extraction from LEDs or phosphors requires a combination of cavity effects to enhance radiance behind the extracting surface and scattering or diffraction to couple trapped total-internal-reflection modes to propagating modes. The treatment applies to macroscopic luminescent sources whose thickness exceeds the longitudinal coherence length of the luminescent radiation.

Laser-activated remote phosphor conversion with ceramic phosphors

Direct laser activation of a remote phosphor, or LARP, is a highly effective approach for producing very high luminance solid-state light sources. Such sources have much smaller étendue than LEDs of similar power, thereby greatly increasing system luminous fluxes in projection and display applications. While several commercial products now employ LARP technology, most current configurations employ phosphor powders in a silicone matrix deposited on rotating wheels. These provide a low excitation duty cycle that helps limit quenching and thermal overload. These systems already operate close to maximum achievable pump powers and intensities. To further increase power scaling and eliminate mechanical parts to achieve smaller footprints, OSRAM has been developing static LARP systems based on high-thermal conductivity monolithic ceramic phosphors. OSRAM has recently introduced a static LARP product using ceramic phosphor for endoscopy and also demonstrated a LARP concept for automotive forward lighting1. We first discuss the basic LARP concept with ceramic phosphors, showing how their improved thermal conductivity can achieve both high luminous fluxes and luminance in a static configuration. Secondly, we show the importance of scattering and low optical losses to achieving high overall efficiency and light extraction. This is shown through experimental results and radiation transport calculations. Finally, we discuss some of the fundamental factors which limit the ultimate luminance achievable with ceramic converted LARP, including optical pumping effects and thermal quenching.

Radiance limits of ceramic phosphors under high excitation fluxes

Ceramic phosphors, excited by high radiance pump sources, offer considerable potential for high radiance conversion. Interestingly, thermodynamic arguments suggest that the radiance of the luminescent spot can even exceed that of the incoming light source. In practice, however, thermal quenching and (non-thermal) optical saturation limit the maximum attainable radiance of the luminescent source. We present experimental data for Ce:YAG and Ce:GdYAG ceramics in which these limits have been investigated. High excitation fluxes are achieved using laser pumping. Optical pumping intensities exceeding 100W/mm2 have been shown to produce only modest efficiency depreciation at low overall pump powers because of the short Ce3+ lifetime, although additional limitations exist. When pump powers are higher, heat-transfer bottlenecks within the ceramic and heat-sink interfaces limit maximum pump intensities. We find that surface temperatures of these laser-pumped ceramics can reach well over 150°C, causing thermal-quenching losses. We also find that in some cases, the loss of quantum efficiency with increasing temperature can cause a thermal run-away effect, resulting in a rapid loss in converted light, possibly over-heating the sample or surrounding structures. While one can still obtain radiances on the order of many W/mm2/sr, temperature quenching effects ultimately limit converted light radiance. Finally, we use the diffusion-approximation radiation transport models and rate equation models to simulate some of these nonlinear optical pumping and heating effects in high-scattering ceramics.

Luminescent ceramics for LED conversion

Many LED-based applications would benefit from more efficient and/or high lumen output devices that enable usage in both white and single color illumination schemes. In the present article we briefly review the materials research history leading to optical ceramic converters and discuss their typical characteristics. Recently demonstrated high performance values in terms of efficacy and external quantum efficiency in orange (amber) spectral region are described.