Chromaticity-Tunable All-Inorganic Color Converters Fabricated by 3D Printing for Modular Plant Growth Lighting Devices

Abstract

In photopolymerization-induced 3D printing of glass and ceramics, the demand for a slurry that has high photosensitivity, low viscosity, and high solid content leads to a limited selection of suspended particles. To this end, ultraviolet-assisted direct ink writing (UV-DIW) is proposed as a new 3D printing compatible approach. A curable UV ink is synthesized, which overcomes the material limitation. Benefiting from the advantage of the UV-DIW process, CaAlSiN3:Eu2+/BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+ phosphors in glass (CASN/BAM-PiG) as chromaticity-tunable specially shaped all-inorganic color converters are prepared for plant growth lighting using an optimized heat treatment procedure. Size compatible dome-type and flat-type CaAlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphors in glass (CASN-PiG) are constructed in batches. The manufactured dome-type PiG-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) exhibit better heat dissipation capacity and a larger divergence angle. The advantage of CASN/BAM-PiG in plant growth lighting is confirmed by the high degree of resemblance between the emission spectra of CASN/BAM-PiG and the absorption spectra of carotenoid and chlorophyll. A series of dome-type CASN/BAM-PiG based LEDs with selective region doping are constructed, which can weaken reabsorption effects and scientifically match the requirements of different plants. The excellent color-tunable ability and high degree of spectral resemblance indicate the superiority of the proposed UV-DIW process in all-inorganic CASN/BAM-PiG color converters for intelligent agricultural lighting.