Preparation of Y(3)Al(5)O(12) based Phosphor powders.

Phosphor materials are important in cathode ray tube (CRT) and electroluminescent display technologies, and development in these materials may lead to competitive edges in many AT&T products with display terminals. Phosphor materials based on Y(3)Al(5)O(12) garnet are used extensively because of their high optical emission intensity and long life time. In this study we prepared cerium doped YAG powders by mechanically mixing the constituent oxide powders and by freeze drying of precursor solutions. The freeze dried powders, due to a homogeneous distribution of cations in their precursor solutions, formed the garnet phase at 1300C which was 300C lower than that required for the constituent oxide mixtures, and they also had a higher optical emission intensity than those prepared from oxide mixtures.