Luminescent Materials in Lighting, Display, Solar Cell, Sensing, and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

This chapter comprises a broader extent of the luminescence phenomenon with the mechanism involved therein as well as applications. Typically, the up and down conversion and downshifting behavior of the optical materials have been elucidated in brief. The fundamental understanding of these optical materials has been described by using schematic representations. It is well documented that the rare earth-based optical materials are known for their luminescent enrichment due to availability of the ladder-like energy levels. These energy levels can be utilized for the excitation of the luminescent materials by using a suitable excitation source. In the process of development of luminescent materials, choice of host matrices and dopant ions is very crucial. Strong correlation of these optical materials has been shown with the current scenario of our society and daily life. In view of the ongoing research, nanophosphor, glasses, and quantum dots with size- and shape-dependent optical behavior have been given in detail. The involved mechanism and the energy transfer phenomenon have been well elucidated by schematic and figures for the evident explanation to the readers. Our emphasis is to elucidate these optical materials in the development of innovative multifunctional applications such as lighting, display,