Incorporation of Pr into LuAG ceramics

An investigation of the effects of Pr in (Lu1-xPrx)3Al5O12 (LuAG:Pr) ceramics was carried out by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) measurements coupled with luminescence measurements. It was found that the Pr concentration that maximizes luminescence emission depends on the thermal processing conditions. While the calcined LuAG:Pr powder showed maximum luminescence emission for Pr concentrations between 0.18 and 0.33 at.%, maximum emission of ceramic bodies sintered at 1500 °C for 20 h was obtained with Pr concentrations between 0.018 and 0.18 at.%. Further, for short sintering times up to about 3 h, luminescence emission intensity is maximum for Pr concentrations around 0.33 at.%. Longer sintering times lead to the formation of PrAlO3 as a secondary phase, concomitant with a reduction of the intensity of luminescence emission.