Patent ID: 8545722

Claim:
An illumination system, comprising: a radiation source; and a luminescent material comprising at least one phosphor capable of absorbing a portion of light emitted by the radiation source and emitting light of a wavelength different from that of the absorbed light; wherein said at least one phosphor is a cerium(III)-activated alkaline earth oxonitridoaluminosilicate of general formula Ca 1−x-y A x Al 1+a-b B b Si 1−a N 3−a O a : Ce y , wherein A represents a variable and is selected from the group consisting of beryllium, magnesium, strontium, barium, zinc, manganese, lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, praseodymium, samarium, and europium, and B represents a variable and is selected from the group consisting of boron, gallium, and scandium and wherein 0≦x≦1; 0<y≦0.2; 0.001≦a≦1 and 0.001≦b≦1.