SBIR Phase I: Novel High Efficiency Nanocrystal-based Phosphors

The broader impacts/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is that it will enable white LEDs to produce significantly better quality light at up to 30% higher efficiencies. Accordingly, the proposed nano-phosphors will enable faster market adoption of LED lighting at a lower overall cost to the end consumer due to their higher efficiencies. Since general lighting is a large component of total energy consumption, e.g., ~20% in the U.S., the nano-phosphors will enable significantly added energy savings at an earlier date compared to the status quo of employing conventional phosphors. With regard to light quality, the nano-phosphors will enable custom, desirable light sources to be formed, for example, that of natural sunlight. Since the nano-phosphors maintain high efficiency under the conditions of high temperature and very high optical flux, they should also help enable next generation optoelectronic devices, such as, optically-pumped, visibly-tunable lasers. Successfully encapsulating the nanocrystals in glass will also make the nano-phosphors more technologically viable in these other high impact areas. Accordingly, R & D will be accelerated due to the availability of nano-phosphors with these enhanced performance characteristics, leading to faster market introduction of additional next generation optoelectronic devices. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to take novel InP-based quantum dots, which have outstanding optical performance, and put them in a form suitable for usage by the LED and lighting fixture industries. To enhance the adoption of LED lighting, manufacturers currently seek high-performance, spectrally-narrow, red-emitting phosphors to replace conventional red phosphors that result in large LED efficiency losses. The InP-based nano-phosphors have the advantages of quantum dots, namely, negligible optical scattering, emission range throughout the visible spectrum, and narrow spectral width, but also maintain high efficiency under the extreme operating conditions of the LEDs. To be practical for LED manufacturers, the nano-phosphors need to be placed in a silicone matrix. To achieve this, the nanocrystals will be encapsulated by a thin shell of glass. In order to maintain efficiency following glass shelling, the semiconductor shell surrounding the nanocrystals will be altered and the conventional glass shelling procedures will be modified.