Evidence of the inhomogeneous Ce3+ distribution across grain boundaries in transparent polycrystalline Ce3+-Doped (Gd,Y) 3Al5O12 garnet optical ceramics

W. Zhao (1) , C. Mancini (2) , D. Amans (3) , G. Boulon (3) , T. Epicier (4) , Y. Min (5) , H. Yagi , T. Yanagitani , T. Yanagida (6) , A. Yoshikawa (7)

1 Polymer Science and Engineering Department [Massachusetts]
2 OAPD - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
3 LPCML - Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie des Matériaux Luminescents
4 MATEIS - Matériaux, ingénierie et science [Villeurbanne]
5 Angewandte Physik
6 Departement of Parasitology
7 Kyushu University

This paper characterizes the inhomogeneous rare earth activator distribution across grain boundaries in transparent rare earth doped optical ceramics. Ce3+ has been selected due to its high intensity fluorescence in visible range under blue or UV excitations, especially in (Gd,Y)3Al5O12 disordered garnet ceramic for scintillator application. Optical spectroscopy and visualization of grains and grain boundaries based on spatially resolved techniques as imaging confocal microscopy (ICM) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) have been used for 0.5% Ce3+-doped (Gd,Y)3Al5O12 ceramic. A strong Ce3+ segregation and spatial distribution between grains and grain boundaries were observed. © 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

Keywords: Aluminum; Ceramic materials; Cerium; Confocal microscopy; Gadolinium; Garnets; Grain boundaries; Grain size and shape; Light transmission; Rare earths; Silicate minerals; Visualization; Cerium compounds; Electronic microscopy; Garnet ceramics; High intensity; Optical ceramics; Optical spectroscopy; Polycrystalline; Rare earth doped; Rare-earth activators; Spatial distribution; Spatially resolved; TEM; UV excitation; Visible range

Domains: Materials

W. Zhao, C. Mancini, D. Amans, G. Boulon, T. Epicier, et al.. Evidence of the inhomogeneous Ce3+ distribution across grain boundaries in transparent polycrystalline Ce3+-Doped (Gd,Y) 3Al5O12 garnet optical ceramics. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 2010, 49 (2 Part 1), ⟨10.1143/JJAP.49.022602⟩. ⟨hal-01813941⟩