Phase composition, microstructure and luminescent property evolutions in “light-scattering enhanced” Al2O3-Y3Al5O12: Ce3+ ceramic phosphors

Classic transparent ceramics for laser gain medium and window materials may benefit from their distinctive features of structural homogeneity and high transparency at large scales. However, this has restricted the ability of the ceramics for local light management. Herein, a strategy for ceramic-phosphor design was conducted in the present work via introducing light-scattering centers into single phased YAG: Ce3+ transparent ceramics, and an enhancement of light extraction was experimentally realized through the control of Al2O3 grain size. UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectra further confirmed the important roles of the excrescent Al2O3 grains. More importantly, PL characterization shows orange-white light emission with high brightness at high temperature. The results highlight that the unique configuration enables simultaneous control of light propagation, luminous efficiency and thermal stability of luminescence, and the design strategy may create great opportunities for laser lighting and displays with high laser power density.