Luminescence properties of YAG:Nd 3 + nano-sized ceramic powders via co-microemulsion and microwave heating

Nano-sized ceramic powders with weaker aggregation of Nd 3 + -doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG:Nd 3 + ) were synthesized via co-microemulsion and microwave heating. This method provides a limited small space in a micelle for the formation of nano-sized precursors. It also requires a very short heating time, thus reducing energy consumption in comparison with conventional solid-state sintering processes. As a result, small-sized particles with narrow size distribution, weaker aggregation and high purity were obtained. Powder X-ray diffraction results revealed that the structure of pure YAG:Nd 3 + nanoparticles was cubic garnet. Transmission electron microscopy results indicated that the synthesized particles were almost spherical with average diameters of 40 and 80 nm. The luminescent properties of YAG:Nd 3 + were investigated through PL. Under excitation at 488 nm, YAG:Nd 3 + nano-sized ceramic powders showed main emission bands of 1045–1080 nm because of 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 transitions that are identical to those observed for a single YAG:Nd 3 + crystal.