There are many glow-in-the-dark products in the market nowadays, from mobile phone covers to toys. If you have ever seen any of these products, you know that they all have to be "charged". You hold them up to a light for a few minutes, and then take them to a dark place where they glow for several hours.

All glow-in-the-dark products contain phosphors. A phosphor is a substance that radiates visible light after being energized. The two places where we most commonly see phosphors are in a TV screen or computer monitor and in fluorescent lights. In a TV screen, an electron beam strikes the phosphor to
energize it. In a fluorescent light, ultraviolet light energizes the phosphor. In both cases, what we see is visible light. To make a glow-in-the-dark product, what you want is a phosphor that is energized by normal light and that has a very long persistence.

GloTech's photoluminescent glow-in-the-dark phosphors are derived from non-radioactive natural rare earth mineral crystals that possess the unique capacity to absorb and store energy from ambient light. In darkness, the crystals instantly begin to emit a luminous glow by releasing the stored light energy. Natural rare earth mineral crystals are thus the primary components that energize glow-in-the-dark products.

There are many types of phosphors with these properties. Two examples of phosphors that have these properties are Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate:

Zinc Sulphide (ZnS)

Zinc Sulphide crystals can be considered the very first generation in photoluminescent crystals and are primarily used in novelty grade glow-in-the- dark toys and display signs.

Strontium Aluminate (SrAl)

Strontium Aluminate represents the next generation in self-emitting light technology. It is what you see in the glow-in-the-dark signs and toys. It has a much longer persistence than Zinc Sulfide. Strontium Aluminate crystals glow more than ten times brighter and last ten times longer than Zinc Sulphide crystals after exposure to light. They are utilized primarily in safety grade commercial products such as signs and emergency egress guidance systems. Strontium Aluminate is recognized as the essential ingredient for the satisfactory performance of photoluminescent safety products.

GloTech's (GT)

GloTech's state-of-the-art photon-emitting crystals have been developed based on the latest breakthroughs in photoluminescent technology.