Effect of sintering temperature on doping with high content of Ce in Y3Al5O12

Y3Al5O12:Ce (YAG:Ce) is used as a yellow phosphor in combination with blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) in white LEDs. YAG crystals with a super-high content of Ce (SHYAGCe) and anomalous redshifts can be prepared using a polymerized complex method by employing low-temperature annealing prior to sintering. Low-temperature annealing at approximately 650–750 °C is essential for doping a high content of Ce in YAG. However, the effect of the sintering temperature on the formation of the crystal structure has not been investigated. In this paper, we study the effect of the sintering temperature on the crystal structure and luminescence property. A single phase of YAG crystals is formed only when sintering is performed at 1030–1080 °C. This implies that the sintering temperature affects the formation of SHYAGCe.