Bifunctional behavior of Er3+ ions as the sintering additive and the fluorescent agent in Er3+ single doped γ-AlON transparent ceramics

We report on the sintering promoting and fluorescent activator roles of Er3+ in AlON:Er3+ transparent ceramics prepared by pressureless sintering with Er2O3 and AlON powder. There shows that the transparency of samples varied with the content of Er2O3 additive. The AlON:Er3+ ceramics showed upconversion luminescence peaking at 546 nm, 662 nm and 840 nm under the 980 nm excitation due to transition of 4S3/2/2H11/2→4I15/2, 4F9/2→4I15/2 and 4S3/2/2H11/2→4I13/2 of Er3+ ions, respectively. The infrared spectra exhibited strong emission at 1534 nm corresponds to 4I13/2→4I15/2 transition. The mechanism of the IR and visible emission bands in AlON:Er3+ ceramics are discussed, which suggest it should be attractive for lighting and display devices applications.