Ce:LYSO, from scintillator to solid-state lighting as a blue luminescent concentrator

Cerium-doped lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (Ce:LYSO) is a well-known single crystal scintillator used in medical imaging and security scanners. Recent development of high power UV LED, matching its absorption band, questions the possibility to use Ce:LYSO in a new way: as LED-pumped solid-state light source. Since Ce:LYSO is available in large size crystals, we investigate its potential as a luminescent concentrator. This paper reports an extensive study of the performance in close relation to the spectroscopic properties of this crystal. It gives the reasons why the Ce:LYSO crystal tested in this study is less efficient than Ce:YAG for luminescent concentration: limited quantum efficiency and high losses coming from self-absorption and from excited-state absorption are playing key roles. However, we demonstrate that a Ce:LYSO luminescent concentrator is an innovative source for solid-state lighting. Pumped by a peak power of 3400 W in quasi-continuous wave regime (40 µs, 10 Hz), a rectangular (1 × 22 × 105 mm(3)) Ce:LYSO crystal delivers a broadband spectrum (60 nm FWHM) centered at 430 nm. At full output aperture (20 × 1 mm(2)), it emits a peak power of 116 W. On a squared output surface (1 × 1 mm(2)) it emits 16 W corresponding to a brightness of 509 W cm(–2) sr(–1). This combination of spectrum power and brightness is higher than blue LEDs and opens perspectives for Ce:LYSO in the field of illumination namely for imaging.