CO2 laser post-treatment of sol-gel-derived Y3Al5O12:Ce phosphor ceramic powders

Abstract

Cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Y3Al5O12:Ce, YAG:Ce) was prepared using a sol-gel method and then fired for CO2 laser post-treatments. Phase transformations and formation of impurities were not observed in YAG:Ce after CO2 laser sintering. The shift of the diffraction peak and the appearance of another Raman peak indicate a more homogeneous distribution of Ce activators and enhanced crystallinity in laser-sintered YAG hosts. Larger spheres (100–200 μm) with tiny crystallites (<10 μm) were observed on the smoother surface in the laser-sintered YAG:Ce, unlike the irregular, porous, and layered powders in the sol-gel-derived YAG:Ce (1–100 μm). Photoluminescence (PL) measurements revealed an emission increase of 180% and a red shift of the emission peak for the laser-sintered YAG:Ce powders compared with the sol-gel-derived powders. Both have comparable thermal PL quenching behavior; however, the YAG:Ce powders with CO2 laser treatment exhibited a PL efficiency improvement of approximately 4%.