Fine tuning of emission property of white light-emitting diodes by quantum-dot-coating on YAG:Ce nanophosphors

We report fine tuning of emission color of Ce-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Y ₃ Al ₅ O ₁₂ :Ce ³⁺ , YAG:Ce) nanophosphor-based white light-emitting diodes (WLED), by coating CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) onto the surface of the YAG:Ce nanoparticles via surface functionalization of both the QDs and the YAG:Ce. Mixture of bromo-functionalized QDs and amino-functionalized YAG:Ce nanoparticles results in conformal coating of the QDs onto the YAG:Ce nanoparticles (QD@YAG:Ce). By varying the QD to YAG:Ce weight ratios, the luminescence spectra of the QD@YAG:Ce are tuned. A high-quality warm-white-light emission is achieved by appropriate combination of the yellow and red emissions from the QD@YAG:Ce, and the blue emission from InGaN LED chip. However, without surface functionalization, irregular mixtures of YAG:Ce and QDs are formed, which consequently make it hard to control the emission spectra. This study demonstrates a promising way to prepare uniformly QD-coated nanophosphors and an approach to control the emission spectra the nanophosphors.