Patent ID: 8057704

Claim:
A phosphor comprising: an inorganic crystal having a composition formula: M a A b Al c O d N e (where M is at least one selected from among Mn, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Tm, and Yb, and A is one or two or more kinds of metal elements other than M and Al, and a+b+c+d+e=1) wherein parameters a, b, c, d, and e satisfy the following: satisfy the following: 0.00001â‰¦aâ‰¦0.1â€ƒâ€ƒ(i), 0â‰¦bâ‰¦0.40â€ƒâ€ƒ(ii), 0.10â‰¦câ‰¦0.48â€ƒâ€ƒ(iii), 0.25â‰¦dâ‰¦0.60â€ƒâ€ƒ(iv), and 0.02â‰¦eâ‰¦0.35â€ƒâ€ƒ(v); wherein the inorganic crystal is an AlON crystal or an AlON solid solution crystal, or has a same crystal structure as the AlON, wherein at least metal element M constituting a metal ion is incorporated in the inorganic crystal in solid solution, and wherein the phosphor emits fluorescence having a peak in a wavelength range of 300 nm to 700 nm upon irradiation with an excitation source.