Radiation-emitting device

Abstract

A radiation-emitting device may include a radiation-emitting semiconductor chip configured to emit electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range from a radiation exit surface, a first phosphor configured to convert electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range into electromagnetic radiation of a second wavelength range. The second wavelength range may be or include infrared light. The device may further include an up-converting phosphor configured to convert infrared light of the second wavelength range into visible light.

Claims

1. A radiation-emitting device comprising: a radiation-emitting semiconductor chip configured to emit electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range from a radiation exit surface; a first phosphor configured to convert electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range into electromagnetic radiation of a second wavelength range, said second wavelength range comprising infrared light; an up-converting phosphor comprising at least two different types of activator ions enabling multi-photon processes, wherein the up-converting phosphor is configured to convert infrared light of the second wavelength range already converted by the first phosphor into visible light.

2. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the up-converting phosphor comprises up-converting nanoparticles.

3. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the up-converting nanoparticles comprise ?-NaYF.sub.4 doped with lanthanoids.

4. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the up-converting nanoparticles are coated with an organic dye.

5. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the up-converting nanoparticles have a size ranging from 10 nanometers to 100 nanometers inclusive.

6. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the radiation-emitting semiconductor chip is configured to emit blue light as electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range.

7. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the second wavelength range comprises red light.

8. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the first phosphor comprises a nitride doped with a rare earth element.

9. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the nitride doped with the rare earth element has one of the following chemical formulas: (Ca,Sr,Ba)AlSiN.sub.3:Eu.sup.2+, (Ca,Sr)AlSiN.sub.3:Eu.sup.2+, Sr(Ca,Sr)Al.sub.2Si.sub.2N.sub.6:Eu.sup.2+, M.sub.2Si.sub.5N.sub.8:Eu.sup.2+; wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Ca, Ba, Sr, or a combination thereof.

10. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising a second phosphor configured to convert electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range into electromagnetic radiation of a third wavelength range, said third wavelength range ranging from yellow to green light.

11. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 10, wherein the second phosphor comprises a garnet doped with a rare earth element.

12. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 11, wherein the garnet doped with the rare earth element has one of the following chemical formulas: (Lu,Y).sub.3(Al,Ga).sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Lu.sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Lu.sub.3(Al,Ga).sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Y.sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Y.sub.3(Al,Ga).sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+.

13. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the first phosphor and/or a second phosphor are phosphor particles embedded in a resin, said resin comprising up-converting nanoparticles of the up-converting phosphor.

14. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 1, emitting electromagnetic radiation with a color impression in the white spectral range having a color rendering index of at least 70.

15. The radiation-emitting device according to claim 14, wherein the emitted electromagnetic radiation has a warm white color impression.

16. A radiation-emitting device comprising: a radiation-emitting semiconductor chip configured to emit electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range from a radiation exit surface; a first phosphor configured to convert electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range into electromagnetic radiation of a second wavelength range, said second wavelength range comprising infrared light; an up-converting phosphor configured to convert infrared light of the second wavelength range into visible light, wherein the up-converting phosphor comprises up-converting nanoparticles coated with an organic dye.

17. A radiation-emitting device comprising: a radiation-emitting semiconductor chip configured to emit electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range from a radiation exit surface; a first phosphor configured to convert electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range into electromagnetic radiation of a second wavelength range, said second wavelength range comprising infrared light; an up-converting phosphor configured to convert infrared light of the second wavelength range into visible light; a second phosphor configured to convert electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range into electromagnetic radiation of a third wavelength range, said third wavelength range ranging from yellow to green light.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a radiation-emitting device according to an exemplary embodiment.

(2) FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of an up-converting nanoparticle comprised by the radiation-emitting device according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1.

(3) FIGS. 3 to 6 each show schematic chemical structural formulas of an organic dye, which may cover the up-converting nanoparticle of FIG. 2.

(4) FIG. 7 exemplarily shows the comparison of the emission spectrum of bare up-converting nanoparticles and the emission spectrum of up-converting nanoparticles coated with different organic dyes.

(5) FIG. 8 shows the comparison of the absorption spectrum of organic dyes in a liquid solution and the absorption spectrum of the supernatant of the respective liquid solution.

(6) FIG. 9 exemplarily shows the total emission spectrum of a radiation-emitting device without up-converting nanoparticles in a schematic way.

(7) FIG. 10 schematically shows the total emission spectrum of a radiation-emitting device according to an embodiment.

(8) FIG. 11 exemplarily shows the emission spectra of different optoelectronic devices without an up-converting phosphor in a schematic way.

(9) The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve for explanation thereof. Further exemplary embodiments and many of the intended advantages will become apparent directly from the following detailed description. Equal or similar elements as well as elements of equal function are designated with the same reference signs in the Figures. The Figures and the proportions of the elements shown in the Figures are not regarded as being shown to scale. Rather, single elements, in particular layers, can be shown exaggerated in magnitude for the sake of better presentation and/or better understanding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) The radiation-emitting device according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises a radiation-emitting semiconductor chip 1. The radiation-emitting semiconductor chip 1 emits electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength range B from a radiation exit surface 2. At present, the semiconductor chip 1 comprises a semiconductor layer sequence with an active zone 3. The semiconductor layer sequence is based on a nitride compound semiconductor material and the active zone 3 generates blue light during operation. The blue light has a peak wavelength within the first wavelength range B consisting of wavelength between 410 nanometer and 480 nanometer.

(11) Furthermore, the radiation-emitting device according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises a conversion element 4 with a resin 5 such as silicone or an epoxy.

(12) The conversion element 4 comprises a first phosphor 6 embodied as phosphor particles. The first phosphor 6 converts electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range B into electromagnetic radiation of a second wavelength range R, which is different from the first wavelength range B. At present, the first phosphor 6 converts electromagnetic radiation of the blue spectral range emitted by the semiconductor chip 1 into the second wavelength range R with red to infrared wavelength. In other words, the second wavelength range R consists at present of wavelengths of the red spectral range and of the infrared spectral range. For example, the second wavelength range R lies between 610 nanometer and 780 nanometer.

(13) For example, a nitride-based material doped with rare earth is suited for the first phosphor 6. In other words, the first phosphor 6 comprises a nitride doped with a rare earth or consists of a nitride doped with rare earth, for example (Ca,Sr,Ba)AlSiN.sub.3:Eu.sup.2+, (Ca,Sr)AlSiN.sub.3:Eu.sup.2+, Sr(Ca,Sr)Al.sub.2Si.sub.2N.sub.6:Eu.sup.2+ or M.sub.2Si.sub.5N.sub.8:Eu.sup.2+ with M=Ca, Ba, Sr alone or in combination.

(14) Furthermore, the conversion element 4 of the radiation-emitting device of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises a second phosphor 7, said second phosphor 7 converting electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength B range into electromagnetic radiation of a third wavelength range G. The third wavelength range G is different from the first wavelength range B and the second wavelength range R. At present, the second phosphor 7 converts blue light of the semiconductor chip 1 into yellow to green light. In a non-limiting embodiment, the third wavelength range G comprises wavelengths between 480 nanometer and 610 nanometer, inclusive. For example, the second phosphor 7 comprises a garnet doped with rare earth or consist of a garnet doped with rare earth, for example (Lu,Y).sub.3(Al,Ga).sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Lu.sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Lu.sub.3(Al,Ga).sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Y.sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+, Y.sub.3(Al,Ga).sub.5O.sub.12:Ce.sup.3+.

(15) Also, an up-converting phosphor 8 is comprised by the conversion element 4 of the radiation-emitting device of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1. The up-converting phosphor 8 converts infrared light of the second wavelength range R into visible light. At present, the up-converting phosphor 8 is embodied as up-converting nanoparticles. The up-converting nanoparticles comprise or consist of ?-NaYF.sub.4:20% Yb.sup.3+, 2% Er.sup.3+ in the present embodiment.

(16) A single up-converting nanoparticle 8 of the radiation-emitting device according to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 is schematically shown in FIG. 2. The up-converting nanoparticle 8 of FIG. 2 is covered with a layer of an organic dye 9 such as IR-783, IR-808, IR-820 or IR-845. The organic dye 9 on the surface of the up-converting nanoparticle 8 absorbs electromagnetic radiation of an absorption wavelength range from the infrared spectral range such that an electronic state is excited with the organic dye. The energy of the electronic state is transferred to the underlying up-converting nanoparticle 8, for example by a non-radiative Foerster transfer. Then, the up-converting nanoparticle 8 up-converts the energy transferred by the organic dye 9 into electromagnetic radiation of the visible range. Advantageously, it is possible to design the organic dye 9 in such a way as to generate different absorption wavelengths.

(17) The basic structure IR-X of the organic dye 9 is schematically shown in FIG. 3. By modifying the chemical structural formula, for example by different residues for R, different absorption characteristics of the organic dye 9 can be achieved.

(18) FIG. 4 exemplarily shows schematically the chemical structural formula of the organic dye 9 designated by IR-808 absorbing infrared radiation of a wavelength of about 808 nanometer.

(19) Furthermore, FIG. 5 schematically shows the chemical structural formula of the organic dye 9 designated by IR-820 absorbing a wavelength of about 820 nanometer.

(20) Furthermore, FIG. 6 shows schematically the chemical structural formula of the organic dye 9 designated by IR-783 absorbing infrared radiation of a wavelength of about 783 nanometer.

(21) FIG. 7 shows measured values of the photoluminescence intensity I in arbitrary units in dependence of the wavelength ? in nanometer of pure up-converting nanoparticles 8 (continuous line) and of up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with an organic dye 9 (dashed line).

(22) The diagram in the top left corner of FIG. 7 shows the photoluminescence intensity I of pure up-converting nanoparticles 8 and up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with a layer of IR-783 as organic dye 9. The bare up-converting nanoparticles 8 are excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 980 nanometer, while the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 called IR-783 were excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 790 nanometer. It can be seen that the photoluminescence of the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 is significantly enhanced compared to the photoluminescence intensity of the bare up-converting nanoparticles 9.

(23) The diagram in the top right corner of FIG. 7 shows the photoluminescence intensity I of pure up-converting nanoparticles 8 and up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with a layer of IR-808 as organic dye 9. The bare up-converting nanoparticles 8 are excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 980 nanometer, while the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 called IR-808 were excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 810 nanometer. It can be seen that the photoluminescence of the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 is significantly enhanced compared to the photoluminescence intensity of the bare up-converting nanoparticles 8.

(24) The diagram in the bottom left corner of FIG. 7 shows the photoluminescence intensity I of pure up-converting nanoparticles 8 and up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with a layer of IR-820 as organic dye 9. The bare up-converting nanoparticles 8 are excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 980 nanometer, while the up-converting nanoparticles covered with the organic dye 9 called IR-820 were excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 825 nanometer. It can be seen that the photoluminescence of the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 is significantly enhanced compared to the photoluminescence intensity of the bare up-converting nanoparticles 8.

(25) The diagram in the bottom right corner of FIG. 7 shows the photoluminescence intensity I of pure up-converting nanoparticles 8 and up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with a layer of IR-845 as organic dye 9. The bare up-converting nanoparticles 8 are excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 980 nanometer, while the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 called IR-845 were excited with electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of about 850 nanometer. It can be seen that the photoluminescence of the up-converting nanoparticles 8 covered with the organic dye 9 is significantly enhanced compared to the photoluminescence intensity of the bare up-converting nanoparticles 8.

(26) FIG. 8 shows exemplarily the measured values of absorbed intensity I of electromagnetic radiation in dependence of the wavelength ? (absorption spectrum) of solutions with up-converting nanoparticles 8 and different organic dyes 9 (continuous line) together with the measured values of absorbed intensity I of electromagnetic radiation in dependence of the wavelength ? of the supernatant of the respective solution after centrifugation (dashed line)

(27) Each solution comprised up-converting nanoparticles 8 with a concentration of about 1 mg/ml and an organic dye 9 with a concentration of about 5 ?mol/l.

(28) The diagram in the top left corner of FIG. 8 shows the absorption spectrum of a solution of up-converting nanoparticles 8 and IR-783 as organic dye 9 together with the absorption spectrum of the supernatant of this solution.

(29) The diagram in the top right corner of FIG. 8 shows the absorption spectrum of a solution of up-converting nanoparticles 8 and IR-808 as organic dye 9 together with the absorption spectrum of the supernatant of this solution.

(30) The diagram in the bottom left corner of FIG. 8 shows the absorption spectrum of a solution of up-converting nanoparticles 8 and IR-820 as organic dye 9 together with the absorption spectrum of the supernatant of this solution.

(31) The diagram in the bottom right corner of FIG. 8 shows the absorption spectrum of a solution of up-converting nanoparticles 8 and IR-845 as organic dye 9 together with the absorption spectrum of the supernatant of this solution.

(32) The absorption spectra revealed that the supernatant of each solution did not show noticeable absorption of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength between 600 nanometer and 900 nanometer in contrast to the absorption spectrum of each solution, suggesting that the organic dyes 9 nearly quantitively conjugate on the surface of the up-converting nanoparticles 8.

(33) FIG. 9 schematically shows the total emission spectrum (continuous line) of a radiation-emitting device having a semiconductor chip 1 emitting blue light and a conversion element 4. The conversion element 4 comprises a first phosphor 6 converting blue light of the semiconductor chip 1 partially into red to infrared light and a second phosphor 7 converting the blue light of the semiconductor chip 1 partially into yellow to green light. An up-converting phosphor 8 converting infrared light of the second wavelength range R into visible light is not comprised by the radiation-emitting device generating the total emission spectrum of FIG. 9. Further, the conversion element 4 transmits a part of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the semiconductor chip 1 unconverted. The total emission spectrum is composed of electromagnetic radiation of the first wavelength range B, which is blue light at present, light of the second wavelength range R, which is red to infrared light at present and electromagnetic radiation of the third wavelength range G, which is yellow to green light at present.

(34) For illustration, the spectral sensitivity of the human eye is shown in FIG. 9 as dashed line. It can be seen that the sensitivity of the human eye decreases for electromagnetic radiation with increasing wavelength in the red spectral range. Infrared light with a wavelength above 760 nanometer is not perceived by the human eye.

(35) The first phosphor 6 converts the blue light of the semiconductor chip 1 not only into electromagnetic radiation of the visible red light but also into infrared light with wavelength above 710 nanometer not visible for the human eye. This infrared light does not contribute to the brightness of the radiation-emitting device, since it is not perceived by the human eye.

(36) In contrast to the radiation-emitting device generating the total emission spectra of FIG. 9, the radiation-emitting device of FIG. 10 comprises an up-converting phosphor 8. For example, the radiation-emitting device of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1 emits the total emission spectrum of FIG. 10.

(37) The up-converting phosphor 8 of the radiation-emitting device converts the infrared light generated by the first phosphor 6 by the conversion of the electromagnetic radiation of the radiation-emitting semiconductor chip 1 into visible light (see the arrow in FIG. 10). At present, the up-converting phosphor 8 converts the infrared light emitted by the first phosphor 6 into visible light of the yellow to green spectral range. In such a way the energy of the infrared light contributes to the light of the radiation-emitting device, which can be perceived by the human eye. In such a way the brightness of the radiation-emitting device of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 10 is enhanced compared to the brightness of the radiation-emitting device of FIG. 9.

(38) FIG. 11 shows the total emission spectra (continuous lines) of different radiation-emitting devices all being free of an up-converting phosphor 8. Further, the spectral sensitivity of the human eye is shown in FIG. 9 as dashed line for illustration.

(39) By the use of different first phosphors 6 and/or second phosphors 7 as well as by variation of the content of the first phosphor 6 and/or the second phosphor 7 within the conversion element 4, different radiation-emitting devices can be achieved emitting white light with different correlated colour temperatures. At present, the radiation-emitting devices emit white light with a colour rendering index (CRI) of about 80 having correlated colour temperatures of about 3000 K, about 4000 K and about 5000 K. All radiation-emitting devices emit electromagnetic radiation with a total emission spectrum having wavelength in the infrared spectral range above 710 nanometer. Therefore, it can be seen from FIG. 11 that the use of an up-converting phosphor 8 in order to enhance the brightness of the respective radiation-emitting device is particularly advantageous for radiation-emitting devices emitting electromagnetic radiation with a warm white impression.

(40) The invention is not limited to the description of the embodiments. Rather, the invention comprises each new feature as well as each combination of features, particularly each combination of features of the claims, even if the feature or the combination of features itself is not explicitly given in the claims or embodiments.

REFERENCES

(41) 1 semiconductor chip 2 radiation exit surface 3 active zone 4 conversion element 5 resin 6 first phosphor 7 second phosphor 8 up-converting phosphor 9 organic dye B first wavelength range R second wavelength range G third wavelength range