A luminescent cerium (Ce) doped compound emitting bright red light, comprising a calcium silicate nitride ternary system, such as CaSiN2-δOδ:Ce3+, that crystallizes in a face-centered cubic unit cell with a lattice parameter of ˜a=14.88 Å. The Ce doped compound can be used for white light applications either: (i) to enhance the light quality of the system based on a blue LED with a yellow or green phosphor, (ii) as an orange phosphor in combination with a blue LED and a green phosphor, or (iii) as a red phosphor in a setup comprising a ultraviolet (UV) LED and red, green and blue (RGB) phosphors. Substitution of smaller elements on the Ca site or larger elements on the Si site leads to a decrease of the emission wavelength towards the yellow or orange region.