Next Generation Energy Efficient Fluorescent Lighting Product PDF Download

This is the Final Report of the Next-Generation Energy Efficient Fluorescent Lighting Products program, Department of Energy (DOE). The overall goal of this three-year program was to develop novel phosphors to improve the color rendition and efficiency of compact and linear fluorescent lamps. The prime technical approach was the development of quantum-splitting phosphor (QSP) to further increase the efficiency of conventional linear fluorescent lamps and the development of new high color rendering phosphor blends for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) as potential replacements for the energy-hungry and short-lived incandescent lamps in market segments that demand high color rendering light sources. We determined early in the project that the previously developed oxide QSP, SrAl{sub 12}O{sub 19}:Pr{sup 3+}, did not exhibit an quantum efficiency higher than unity under excitation by 185 nm radiation, and we therefore worked to determine the physical reasons for this observation. From our investigations we concluded that the achievement of quantum efficiency exceeding unity in SrAl{sub 12}O{sub 19}:Pr{sup 3+} was not possible due to interaction of the Pr{sup 3+} 5d level with the conduction band of the solid. The interaction which gives rise to an additional nonradiative decay path for the excitation energy is responsible for the low quantum efficiency of the phosphor. Our work has led to the development of a novel spectroscopic method for determining photoionzation threshold of luminescent centers in solids. This has resulted in further quantification of the requirements for host phosphor lattice materials to optimize quantum efficiency. Because of the low quantum efficiency of the QSP, we were unable to demonstrate a linear fluorescent lamp with overall performance exceeding that of existing mercury-based fluorescent lamps. Our work on the high color rendering CFLs has been very successful. We have demonstrated CFLs that satisfies the EnergyStar requirement with color rendering index (CRI) greater than 90; the CRI of current commercial CFLs are in the low 80s. In this report we summarize the technical work completed under the Program, summarize our findings about the performance limits of the various technologies we investigated, and outline promising paths for future work.