Luminescent properties of Eu3+-doped YTaO4 powders

YTaO4:Eu3+ powders were synthesized by a flux method with LiCl. The use of a flux in the synthesis of M′–YTaO4 facilitated the reaction of raw materials, leading to lowering the heating temperature, but not effective at the high firing temperature. The red emission peaks were observed around 613 nm with an excitation wavelength of 254 nm. Emission peaks were composed of two sets around 613 nm and 590 nm, which originated from 5D0–7F2 and 5D0–7F1, respectively. PL intensity of YTaO4:Eu3+ prepared with a small amount of LiCl (10 wt%) significantly depended on the firing temperatures, while that with a larger amount of LiCl (40 wt%) slightly relied on firing temperatures. The highest PL intensity could be obtained at the firing conditions of 1300 °C and 10 wt% LiCl.