Improved performance by plasma-treated silicate phosphor particles with a sol-gel derived protective coating of indium oxide

摘要

The optical properties and reliability of silicate phosphor was fairly improved by an amorphous In2O3 protective coating on plasma-treated phosphor particles. The In2O3 layers were coated using a conventional sol-gel method with alkoxide precursor in N-2 gas. The surface morphology of silicate particles was smoother after Ar-plasma surface modification. When plasma surface treatment of the phosphor was applied before sol-gel coating, the In2O3 coating was almost 3-times thicker, and the surface of the phosphor particles was smoother, than could be obtained when sol-gel coating was not preceded by plasma treatment. This was because the treatment caused the surface to become hydrophilic. The light absorption rate and quantum efficiency were increased from 75.3% and 93.8%, to 79.2% and 95.7%, after plasma-treated In2O3 coating. Bare silicate phosphor used in 450-nm vertical-type LEDs, displayed 10% decreased optical output, whereas In2O3-coated phosphor showed just 3% decreased optical output after 1000 h of input current at 350 mA; under conditions of high humidity and high temperature. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.