Synthesis and Optical Properties of YAG : Ce Ceramics with a High Cerium Concentration

Samples of YAG : Ce optical ceramics with an activator concentration of 0.5, 1, 5, and 10 at. % were synthesized by a solid-phase method. The synthesis of the samples containing 10 at. % Ce was accompanied by a significant decrease in the weight (to 11.69 wt %) and an anomalous growth of crystallites more than 2 mm in size. The effect of the type of the sintering additive and the activator concentration on the physicochemical properties of the YAG : Ce ceramics was determined. The use of silica as a sintering additive was found to require higher temperatures for the synthesis of the ceramics than the use of zirconia. The activator (cerium) in YAG was observed to behave as a sintering additive, accelerating mass-transfer processes. The luminescence properties of the synthesized samples excited by pulsed and stationary X-ray sources were studied. The relationships between the emissions of Ce3+ and Y-Al antisite defects, and between the timing performance and the concentration quenching were considered. The ceramic sample with a cerium concentration of 0.5 at. % demonstrated the maximum intensity of the Ce3+ emission band, and the sample containing 10 at. % showed the fastest luminescence response (67 ns).

Automated summary

Samples of YAG : Ce optical ceramics with different activator concentrations were synthesized by a solid-phase method, and the effects of activator concentration and sintering additive type on the physicochemical properties of the ceramics were studied. It was found that increasing Ce concentration in YAG resulted in changes in ceramic properties, and Ce acted as a sintering additive, accelerating mass-transfer processes. Luminescence properties of the synthesized samples were also investigated, with different Ce concentrations showing different emission intensities and response speeds.