Luminescent properties of YAG:Ce3+ phosphor powders prepared by hydrothermal-homogeneous precipitation method

Y3-xCexAl5O12 (YAG:Ce3+) phosphor powders were successfully prepared by hydrothermal-homogenous precipitation (HHP) method, under mild conditions with inexpensive aluminum and yttrium nitrates as the starting materials and urea as homogenous precipitant. The pure YAG crystalline phase could be formed after hydrothermal treatment at 100 degrees C for 4 h and 240 degrees C for 20 h and postannealing process at 1200 degrees C for 2 h. All of the as-prepared YAG:Ce3+ powders did not have the CeO2 phase. The photoluminescence spectrum of crystalline YAG:Ce3+ phosphors showed the emission intensity of phosphor increased with increasing the annealed temperature and reached its maximum as the molar fraction of cerium ion was 0.10, and also showed the maximum emission wavelength nearly unchanged with the calcination temperature and cerium doping concentration. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.