Patent ID: 10156716

Abstract:
A phosphor wheel includes: a substrate; and a plurality of phosphor layers disposed apart from each other on the substrate along a circumferential direction. Each phosphor layer includes a first fluorescence emitter and a second fluorescence emitter that are disposed side by side along the circumferential direction and emit fluorescence having mutually different colors. A fluorescence efficiency of the second fluorescence emitter when the second fluorescence emitter is irradiated with excitation light is lower than a fluorescence efficiency of the first fluorescence emitter when the first fluorescence emitter is irradiated with the excitation light. In plan view, a blank portion is located adjacent to the second fluorescence emitter in the circumferential direction, the blank portion being a portion of the substrate where no phosphor layer is disposed. The phosphor wheel rotates to cause the second fluorescence emitter to be irradiated with the excitation light immediately after the blank portion.