Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWSBudde prize research on light converters
Michelle Grüne was awarded a prize by the Budde Foundation for a new approach to using luminescent glasses for lighting and light technology. She received the 5000 euro prize for her master’s thesis at the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, the research for which was conducted in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Application Center for Inorganic Phosphors in Soest.
A typical white light LED consists of a blue LED chip embedded in a phosphor polymer composite that emits yellow light. This combination is needed to generate white light. However, maintaining the color stability and long-term stability of this composite poses a challenge to LED chips, which are becoming more and more powerful. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Application Center for Inorganic Phosphors in Soest, Michelle Grüne searched for an alternative system in her thesis.
The great potential of the glass system she developed is demonstrated by the light rods produced in the framework of her thesis. In view of their potential for use as light converters, the luminous intensity distribution of the light rods was examined upon excitation with an ultraviolet LED and a blue LED. With the aid of optical simulations, the experimental results were analyzed in depth to determine the potential of the light rods.
Michelle Grüne’s thesis was written in the framework of the English-language master program “Systems Engineering & Engineering Management (SEEM)” established at the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences in Soest and was supervised by Prof. Dr. Stefan Schweizer. “I am delighted that Mrs. Grüne’s paper was received so positively. This also demonstrates an appreciation for issues relating to the lighting and light technology industry in the region”, states Prof. Schweizer. The award ceremony took place in a video conference this year due to the corona pandemic.
The results have already been published in an international journal (Michelle Grüne, A. Charlotte Rimbach, Juliane Steinbrück, and Stefan Schweizer, Journal of Luminescence 223, 117215 (2020)). After completing her master’s degree, the young scientist remained at the university as a doctoral candidate and is also conducting research on luminescent glasses for next-generation lighting concepts in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Application Center in Soest.
