 Nature decilicates are a unique type of material composed of silicon nitride and oxygen atoms. They have been used for decades as structural materials due to their high strength and hardness, but recently they have also been found to be useful for luminescence. Rare earth elements can be added to these compounds to create a new family of luminescent materials. These materials have been shown to emit light when excited by ultraviolet or visible light, making them ideal candidates for white LEDs. The luminescence of these materials is characterized by a red shifted excitation spectrum, small stokes shift, low thermal quenching, and high conversion efficiency. These characteristics make them excellent candidates for use in white LEDs with tunable color temperature and high color rendering index. This article was authored by Rong Jun-sia, Naoto Hirasaki, Yuan Xiangli, and others.