LED lighting drives demand for phosphors

PARIS – The LED phosphor market is expected to more than double in the next five years, according to Yole Développement (Lyon, France).

Phosphors enable the conversion of the monochromatic blue or near-UV light emitted by LED chips into a richer spectrum of color approaching or exceeding that of other artificial light sources. Over the next five years, Yole Développement said it expects the phosphor market will grow significantly and potentially pass the $1 billion mark.

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The combination of YAG phosphor + blue LED is commonly used for applications where high CRI and warm color temperature are not needed. A new trend is emerging in the LED phosphor industry with the rapid growth of LED applications requesting warm colors and saturated reds in display or residential and retail lighting. For these, additional red and/or green phosphors are added to the mix.

In its report, titled "LED phosphors," Yole Développement said Nitrides and Oxynitrides offer excellent performance but market price for these materials is 5x to 10x higher than that of yellow phosphors. Multiple organizations are now developing better, cheaper and non IP-restricted compositions. Tungstates, molybdates, carbidonitrides, Green Aluminates and Selenides are being investigated.

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