Light emitting diodes or LEDs are only able to produce light of a certain colour. However, white light can be created using different colour mixing processes. “In a white LED, red and yellow-green phosphors are excited by the light from a blue diode. The particles emit light in the red and green range, and in combination with the blue light they produce white light,” describes Hubert Huppertz from the Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He and his team are working on improving the red and green phosphors. In cooperation with OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, his team has now succeeded in synthesizing a new red phosphor that has excellent luminescence properties and can make LED lighting significantly more energy-efficient.
