Fabrication of cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet thin films by a mist CVD method

We synthesized thin films, consisting of yttrium aluminum garnet doped with Ce3+ (YAG:Ce), using the mist chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, which allows the fabrication of high-quality thin films under atmospheric conditions without the use of vacuum equipment. Under a deposition rate of approximately 1 μm/h, the obtained thin films had a typical thickness of 2 μm. The XRD analysis indicated that the thin films consisted of single-phase YAG:Ce. The Rutherford backscattering confirmed the stoichiometry; the composition of the film was determined to be (Y, Ce)3Al5O12, with a Ce content of Ce/(Y+Ce)=2.5%. The YAG:Ce thin films exhibited fluorescence due to the 5d-4f electronic transitions characteristic of the Ce ions occupying the eight-coordinated dodecahedral sites in the YAG lattice.