Fabrication of Ce:YAG, Ce,Cr:YAG and Ce:YAG/Ce,Cr:YAG dual-layered composite phosphor ceramics for the application of white LEDs

(Ce0.001Y0.999)3Al5O12 and (Ce0.001Y0.999)3(CrxAl1−x)5O12 (x=0.001−0.005) transparent ceramics were synthesized by the solid state reaction and vacuum sintering and their optical properties were measured. High quality white light was obtained when the Ce:YAG/Ce,Cr:YAG dual-layered composite ceramic was directly combined with commercial blue LED chip. A maximum luminous efficacy exceeding 76 lm/W at a low correlated color temperature of 4905 K was obtained. The color temperature can be controlled by variations of Cr3+ concentration and the ceramic thickness. Hence, the Ce:YAG/Ce,Cr:YAG dual-layered composite phosphor ceramic may be a promising candidate for white LEDs.