A method for manufacturing a nitride phosphor is provided. The method comprises providing a nitride phosphor formulation and subjecting the nitride phosphor formulation to a hot isostatic pressing step. The nitride phosphor formulation comprises a flux and a phosphor precursor, wherein the flux is a barium-containing nitride. The phosphor precursor comprises two or more metal nitrides, and wherein a plurality of metal elements are present in the nitride phosphor and the two or more metal nitrides contain the plurality of metal elements.

A red-emitting phosphor comprising an Eu.sup.2+ doped nitridoaluminate phosphor is provided. The red emitting phosphor comprises an emission maximum in the range of 610 to 640 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The invention provides a lighting device (100) comprising: a first solid state light source (10), configured to provide UV radiation (11) having a wavelength selected from the range of 380-420 nm; a second solid state light source (20), configured to provide blue light (21) having a wavelength selected from the range of 440-470 nm; a wavelength converter element (200), wherein the wavelength converter element (200) comprises: a first luminescent material (210), configured to provide upon excitation with the blue light (21) of the second solid state light source (20) first luminescent material light (211) having a wavelength selected from the green and yellow wavelength range, and wherein the first luminescent material excitability for UV radiation (11) is lower than for blue light (21); and a second luminescent material (220), configured to provide upon excitation with the blue light (21) of the second solid state light source (20) second luminescent material light (221) having a wavelength selected from the orange and red wavelength range, and wherein the second luminescent material excitability for UV radiation (11) is lower than for blue light (21).

The invention provides a method for providing luminescent particles (100) with a hybrid coating, the method comprising (i) providing a first coating layer (110) onto the luminescent particles (100) by application of a sol-gel coating process, thereby providing coated luminescent particles; and (ii) providing a second coating layer (120) onto the coated luminescent particles by application of an atomic layer deposition process. The invention also provides luminescent particles (100) comprise a luminescent core (102), a first coating layer (110) having a first coating layer thickness (d1) in the range of 50-300 nm, and a second coating layer (120) having a second coating layer thickness (d2) in the range of 5-250 nm.

The invention provides a lighting device configured to provide red lighting device light, the lighting device comprising: (i) a first light source configured to provide first light source light having a peak wavelength (ls); (ii) a first red luminescent material configured to absorb at least part of the first light source light and to convert into first red luminescent material light having a first red emission peak wavelength (m1), the first red luminescent material having an excitation maximum (x1); (iii) a second red luminescent material configured to absorb at least part of the first light source light and to convert into second red luminescent material light having a second red emission peak wavelength (m2), the second red luminescent material having a second excitation maximum (x2); and wherein the first luminescent material and the second luminescent material are Eu2+ based, and wherein m1<m2, x1<ls and x2>ls.

Provided is a production method of a nitride fluorescent material capable of producing a nitride fluorescent material having a higher emission intensity. The production method is for producing a nitride fluorescent material having a composition containing at least one element M.sup.a selected from the group consisting of Sr, Ca, Ba and Mg, at least one element M.sup.b selected from the group consisting of Li, Na and K, at least one element M.sup.c selected from the group consisting of Eu, Ce, Tb and Mn, and Al and N, which includes subjecting a raw material mixture containing elements constituting the composition of the nitride fluorescent material, along with SrF.sub.2 and/or LiF added thereto as a flux, to a heat treatment, wherein the amount of the flux is in a range of 5.0% by mass or more and 15% by mass or less relative to the total amount, 100% by mass of the raw material mixture and the flux.

A phosphor is disclosed. In an embodiment the phosphor includes an inorganic compound having at least one activator E and N and/or O in its empirical formula, wherein E is selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cr, Ni, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Tm, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs and combinations thereof, and wherein the inorganic compound crystallizes in a crystal structure with the same atomic sequence as in K.sub.2Zn.sub.6O.sub.7.

A phosphor includes a crystal phase having a composition represented by Re.sup.xMA.sup.aMB.sup.bMC.sup.cD.sup.dX.sup.e, in which MA includes at least one of Ca, Sr, Ba, Na, K, Y, Gd, or La, MB includes at least one of Li, Mg, or Zn, MC includes at least one of Al, Si, Ga, In, or Sc, D is N (nitrogen) and/or O (oxygen), X includes at least one of F, Cl, Br, or I, Re includes at least one of Eu, Ce, Pr, Tb, or Dy, and a, b, c, d, e, and x satisfy the specific expressions, respectively. In the phosphor, when a content of B (boron) is designated as b (mass ppm), a value of Log.sub.10(b) is 3.5 or less.

A method of producing a nitride fluorescent material having a high light emission intensity and including a calcined product having a composition represented by formula M.sup.a.sub.vM.sup.b.sub.wM.sup.c.sub.xM.sup.d.sub.yN.sub.z is provided. M.sup.a is at least one element selected from Sr, Ca, Ba, and Mg; M.sup.b is at least one element selected from Li, Na, and K; M.sup.c is at least one element selected from Eu, Mn, Tb, and Ce; M.sup.d is at least one element selected from Al, B, Ga, and In; v, w, x, y, and z satisfy 0.8v1.1, 0.8w1.1, 0.001<x0.1, 2.0y4.0, and 3.0z5.0, respectively. The nitride fluorescent material includes elemental oxygen in a range of 2% or more and 4% or less by mass. The method includes mixing the calcined product with a polar solvent having a relative dielectric constant in a range of 10 or more and 70 or less at 20 C.

A luminophore with the general formula Sr.sub.1-bBa.sub.bLi.sub.3Al.sub.1-xGa.sub.xO.sub.4-yN.sub.y:Eu is provided, where 0b1, 0<x1 and 0y1. A luminophore mixture containing at least two luminophores selected from the group consisting of a luminophore (1) having the general formula Sr.sub.1-bBa.sub.bLi.sub.3Al.sub.1-xGa.sub.xO.sub.4-yN.sub.y:Eu, where 0b1, 0<x1 and 0y1, which crystallizes in a triclinic crystal structure, a luminophore (1) having the general formula Sr.sub.1-bBa.sub.bLi.sub.3Al.sub.1-xGa.sub.xO.sub.4-yN.sub.y:Eu, where 0b 1, 0<x1 and 0y1, which crystallizes in a monoclinic crystal structure, and a luminophore (1) having the general formula Sr.sub.1-bBa.sub.bLi.sub.3Al.sub.1-xGa.sub.xO.sub.4-yN.sub.y:Eu, where 0b1, 0<x1 and 0y1, which crystallizes in a tetragonal crystal structure is also provided.