Maryna Meretska

How to distinguish elastically scattered light from Stokes shifted light for solid-state lighting?

We have studied the light transport through phosphor diffuser plates that are used in commercial solid-state lighting modules (Fortimo). These polymer plates contain YAG:Ce+3 phosphor particles that scatter, absorb and re-emit incident light in the visible wavelength range (400-700 nm). To distinguish scattered from re-emitted light we used a narrowband light source. The re-emitted light is Stokes shifted to the red with respect to the scattered light, and is then spectrally separated from the scattered light. By using this technique we have measured the diffuse transmission of the phosphor diffuser plates. We use diffusion theory to extract the transport mean free path ltr over the full wavelength range. Simultaneously, we determine the absorption mean free path labs in the wavelength range 400 to 530 nm where YAG:Ce+3 absorbs. The measured absorption (1/labs) spectrum provides information about optimal design parameters: thickness of the plates and phosphor concentration of white LEDWe have studied the transport of light through phosphor diffuser plates that are used in commercial solid-state lighting modules (Fortimo). These polymer plates contain YAG:Ce+3 phosphor particles that both elastically scatter and Stokes shift light in the visible wavelength range (400–700u2009nm). We excite the phosphor with a narrowband light source and measure spectra of the outgoing light. The Stokes shifted light is spectrally separated from the elastically scattered light in the measured spectra, and using this technique, we isolate the elastic transmission of the plates. This result allows us to extract the transport mean free path ltr over the full wavelength range by employing diffusion theory. Simultaneously, we determine the absorption mean free path labs in the wavelength range 400 to 530u2009nm where YAG:Ce+3 absorbs. The diffuse absorption (μa=1labs) spectrum is qualitatively similar to the absorption coefficient of YAG:Ce+3 in powder, with the diffuse spectrum being wider than the absorption coeffi...

Accurate determination of the transport parameters of light in white light emitting diodes

The energy-efficient generation of white light has recently become an important societal issue. The technology of white-light emitting diodes (LEDs) is one of the most promising solutions to efficiently generate white light for home, office, and street locations, and even for remote locations without electric power grid [1]. One of the outstanding in the development of LED technology are understanding the scattering [2], the absorption and emission with analytical physical models [3, 4]. As a first example of the power of the physical understanding of multiple light scattering in LEDs, we describe straightforward tools to extract essential optical parameters.

Analytical modeling of light transport in scattering materials with strong absorption

We have investigated the transport of light through slabs that both scatter and strongly absorb, a situation that occurs in diverse application fields ranging from biomedical optics, powder technology, to solid-state lighting. In particular, we study the transport of light in the visible wavelength range between 420 and 700 nm through silicone plates filled with YAG:Ce3+ phosphor particles, that even re-emit absorbed light at different wavelengths. We measure the total transmission, the total reflection, and the ballistic transmission of light through these plates. We obtain average single particle properties namely the scattering cross-section σs, the absorption cross-section σa, and the anisotropy factor µ using an analytical approach, namely the P3 approximation to the radiative transfer equation. We verify the extracted transport parameters using Monte-Carlo simulations of the light transport. Our approach fully describes the light propagation in phosphor diffuser plates that are used in white LEDs and that reveal a strong absorption (L/la > 1) up to L/la = 4, where L is the slab thickness, la is the absorption mean free path. In contrast, the widely used diffusion theory fails to describe this parameter range. Our approach is a suitable analytical tool for industry, since it provides a fast yet accurate determination of key transport parameters, and since it introduces predictive power into the design process of white light emitting diodes.