Lighting accounts for one-eighth of total U.S. electricity consumption. Conventional light sources such as incandescent light bulbs and fluorescence light tubes consume a lot of energy. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a new generation lighting technology have extremely long life spans and consume much less energy. Despite rapid advances, LED technology is still in its early stage, and continued innovation and breakthroughs are needed to achieve the full potential of this technology. White LEDs are typically obtained by coating yellow luminescence materials (called “phosphorâ€) onto blue LEDs. The lack of red component results in a cool color, which is not suitable for indoor lighting applications. The objective of this CAREER project is to develop highly efficient, environmentally friendly luminescent materials by using earth-abundant elements and low-cost and large-scale solution-based methods to replace the yellow phosphors. The project aims to develop highly efficient white LEDs with superior color quality, to speed up the widespread adoption of white LEDs, and to save energy. This project offers educational training in multidisciplinary areas such as Physics, Material Science, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering for both undergraduate and graduate students. The research is also integrated with photonic education activities at local K-12 schools. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
Metal halide perovskites are promising semiconductor materials for potential applications in optoelectronic devices. However, the common inclusion of lead and stability issues of this material are hampering the practical applications of these materials. The Principal Investigator is exploring new lead-free pseudohalide/halide perovskite nanocrystals and investigating the factors affecting their optical properties and stability by using theoretical and experimental methods. The knowledge obtained in this project improves our fundamental understanding of the physics of pseudohalide/halide perovskite materials and assists in discovering new environmentally friendly materials for next-generation white LEDs. The project expects to solve the issues challenging the practical applications of these materials and to accelerate their use in optoelectronic devices. The completion of this project results in a cost reduction of LED, widespread adoption of white LED in the general illumination market, and significant energy savings. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
