Production of a novel silicon oxynitride (Si2N2O-Sinoite) phosphour material for solid state lighting (SSL)

Solid-state lighting (SSL) is a technology in which traditional incandescent and fluorescent lamps are replaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The main advantages of SSL lamps compared to conventional incandescent and fluorescent lamps are high energy conversion efficiency, long service life and they are not include hazardous substances, and ultraviolet-infrared radiation. Silicon oxynitride (Si2N2O-Sinoite), the orthorhombic crystal structure of Si2N2O has large structural interstitial spaces that can accommodate rare earth (RE) element atoms along the 'c' axis. For this reason, Si2N2O doped with RE atoms can be considered as a new candidate phosphorus material which can exhibit stability without deterioration at high temperatures. In this study, in order to produce single-phase sinoite phosphor powders by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method, firstly, reaction temperature, waiting time, RE element type and quantity parameters were optimized. Phase content and percentage amounts of the synoite phosphor powders to be synthesized were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld analysis. Photoluminescence (PL) analysis, including excitation and emission wavelengths of samples, and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectrometry and microstructure examinations were performed with scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM and TEM). RE elements (Eu+2/+3, Sm+3, Yb+3, Ce+3/+4, Nd+3, Pr+3 and Tb+3) in varying amounts in the range of 0.02-0.12 % were doped sinoite phase and has been successfully produced different wavelengths between 400-700 nm. Keywords: Solid state lighting (SSL), Silicon oxynitride, Si2N2O, Sinoit, Phosphour.