Phosphorescent materials were discovered in the 1700s, and people have been studying them and making improvements over the centuries. The development of strontium aluminate pigments in 1993 was spurred on by the need to find a substitute for glow-in-the-dark materials with high luminance and long phosphorescence, especially those that used promethium. This led to the discovery by Yasumitsu Aoki (Nemoto & Co.) of materials with luminance approximately 10 times greater than zinc sulfide and phosphorescence approximately 10 times longer, and 10 times more expensive. The invention was patented by Nemoto & Co., Ltd. and licensed to other manufacturers and watch brands. Strontium aluminates are now the longest lasting and brightest phosphorescent material commercially available. 
For many phosphorescence-based purposes, strontium aluminate is a superior phosphor to its predecessor, copper-activated zinc sulfide, being about 10 times brighter and 10 times longer glowing. It is frequently used in glow in the dark objects, where it replaces the cheaper but less efficient Cu:ZnS that many people recognize with nostalgia – this is what made glow in the dark stars stickers glow. 
Advancements in understanding of phosphorescent mechanisms, as well as advancements in molecular imaging, have enabled the development of novel, state-of-the-art strontium aluminates.