A wavelength converter includes a first phosphor activated with Cr.sup.3+; and a second phosphor activated with at least one ion of Ce.sup.3+ or Eu.sup.2+. A fluorescence spectrum of a fluorescence emitted by the second phosphor has a peak where a fluorescence intensity shows a maximum value in a wavelength range of 500 nm or more to less than 580 nm. The wavelength converter emits a fluorescence having a light component over an entire range of 500 nm or more to less than 580 nm. The wavelength converter emits a light having a spectrum in which a ratio of a minimum light emission intensity to a maximum light emission intensity is 40% or less in a wavelength range of 550 nm or more to 700 nm or less.

An optical device includes an LED chip, a visible-light luminescent material, and a near-infrared luminescent material, wherein a luminous power of light emitted by the near-infrared and visible-light luminescent materials in a band of 650-1000 nm under the excitation of the LED chip is A, and a sum of a luminous power of light emitted by the near-infrared and visible-light luminescent materials in a band of 350-650 nm under the excitation of the LED chip and a luminous power of residual light emitted by the LED chip in the band of 350-650 nm after the LED chip excites the near-infrared and visible-light luminescent materials is B, with B/A*100% being 0.1%-10%. According to the implementation where the optical device employs the LED chip to combine the near-infrared luminescent material and the visible-light luminescent material simultaneously.

An oxide fluorescent material comprises: at least one first element M.sup.1 selected from Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs; at least one second element M.sup.2 selected from Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, and Zn; at least one third element M.sup.3 selected from B, Al, Ga, In, and rare earth elements; at least one fourth element M.sup.4 selected from Si, Ti, Ge, Zr, Sn, Hf, and Pb; O; and Cr, wherein when the molar ratio of the at least one fourth element M.sup.4 in 1 mol of the composition is 5, the molar ratio of the at least one first element M.sup.1 is 0.7 or more and 1.3 or less, the molar ratio of the at least one second element M.sup.2 is 1.5 or more and 2.5 or less, the molar ratio of the at least one third element M.sup.3 is 0.7 or more and 1.3 or less, the molar ratio of oxygen is 12.9 or more and 15.1 or less, and the molar ratio of Cr is more than 0 and 0.2 or less, and wherein the oxide fluorescent material has a light emission peak wavelength in a range of 700 nm or more and 1,050 nm or less in a light emission spectrum of the oxide fluorescent material.

The present invention discloses a red light and near-infrared light-emitting material and a light-emitting device. The red light and near-infrared light-emitting material contains a compound represented by a molecular formula, xA.sub.2O.sub.3.Math.yIn.sub.2O.sub.3.Math.bR.sub.2O.sub.3, wherein the element A is Sc and/or Ga; the element R is one or two of Cr, Yb, Nd or Er and necessarily includes Cr; and 0.001≤x≤1, 0.001≤y≤1, 0.001≤b≤0.2, and 0.001≤b/(x+y)≤0.2. The light-emitting material can be excited by a technically mature blue light source to emit light with a high-intensity wide-spectrum or multiple spectra. Compared with existing materials, the light-emitting material has higher luminescent intensity. The light-emitting device uses an LED chip to combine an infrared light-emitting material and a visible light light-emitting material. In this way, the same LED chip can emit near-infrared light and visible light at the same time, which greatly simplifies the packaging process and reduces the packaging cost.

Provided is a light irradiation type cosmetic apparatus including a light emitting device including: a light source that emits primary light; and a first phosphor that absorbs the primary light and converts the primary light into first wavelength-converted light having a wavelength longer than that of the primary light, wherein the light source is a solid-state light source having a rated output of 1 W or more, the primary light is light emitted from the solid-state light source, the first wavelength-converted light contains fluorescence based on an electron energy transition of Cr.sup.3+, and the first wavelength-converted light has a fluorescence spectrum having a fluorescence intensity maximum value in a wavelength range exceeding 710 nm.

The present invention discloses a red light and near-infrared light-emitting material and a light-emitting device. The red light and near-infrared light-emitting material contains a compound represented by a molecular formula, xA.sub.2O.sub.3.yIn.sub.2O.sub.3.bR.sub.2O.sub.3, wherein the element A is Sc and/or Ga; the element R is one or two of Cr, Yb, Nd or Er and necessarily includes Cr; and 0.001≤x≤1, 0.001≤y≤1, 0.001≤b≤0.2, and 0.001≤b/(x+y)≤0.2. The light-emitting material can be excited by a technically mature blue light source to emit light with a high-intensity wide-spectrum or multiple spectra. Compared with existing materials, the light-emitting material has higher luminescent intensity. The light-emitting device uses an LED chip to combine an infrared light-emitting material and a visible light light-emitting material. In this way, the same LED chip can emit near-infrared light and visible light at the same time, which greatly simplifies the packaging process and reduces the packaging cost.

An object of the present invention is to provide an infrared light-emitting phosphor which emits light in a wavelength range where the sensitivity of a detector is high by combination with a semiconductor light-emitting element that emits light in the visible light region, and to provide an infrared light-emitting device using the infrared light-emitting phosphor. The object can be achieved with a light-emitting device including a semiconductor light-emitting element that emits ultraviolet light or visible light and a phosphor that absorbs ultraviolet light or visible light emitted from the semiconductor light-emitting element and emits light in the infrared region, wherein an emission peak wavelength in the infrared region of the phosphor emitting in the infrared region is from 750 to 1,050 nm, and the half width of an emission peak waveform is more than 50 nm.

An optical storage phosphor, a method for checking an authenticity feature, and an apparatus for carrying out a method, relate to an authenticity feature and to a value document. An inorganic optical storage phosphor is provided having a garnet structure and predetermined composition.

The near-infrared luminescent material is capable of efficiently emitting near-infrared light with a peak wavelength of 900 nm to 1,100 nm under an effective excitation wavelength of 250 nm to 750 nm. The luminescent material has the characteristics of wide excitation emission wavelength, high luminous efficiency, uniform luminescence, no impurity phase, high stability, simple preparation and the like. The present invention further provides the light-emitting device prepared from the near-infrared luminescent material. The luminescent material and the light-emitting device provided by the present invention solve the problems of poor stability, low luminous efficiency, high preparation cost and the like of a conventional near-infrared luminescent material and light-emitting device, and have a favorable application prospect.

Examples of a monolithic phosphor composite for measuring a parameter of an object are disclosed. The ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite is used in an optical device for measuring the parameter of the measuring object. The device comprises a fiber optic probe with a light guide, a light source operatively coupled to the fiber optic probe to provide excitation light into the light guide, a monolithic ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite functionally coupled to a tip of the fiber optic probe, a sensor operatively coupled to the fiber optic probe to detect the emitted light and a processing unit functionally coupled to the sensor to process the emitted light. The monolithic ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite can be embedded in a notch made into the object or can be adhered to a surface of the object with a binder. When the monolithic ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite is illuminated with the excitation light it emits light in a wavelength different from the excitation light and a change in emission intensity at a single wavelength or the change in intensity ratio of two or more wavelengths, a shift in emission wavelength peak or a decay time of the phosphor luminescence is a function of the measuring parameter.