Sol - gel synthesis and laser sintering of (Tb1-xCex)3Al5O12 nanoceramics

Terbium aluminum garnet (Tb3Al5O12, TAG) host material with the activator Ce3+ is a promising optical material and shows wonderful characteristics as a green-yellow component in white LEDs. Y. Chen et al and M. S. Tsai et al prepared TAG:Ce3+ by solid state reaction and calcined the mixtures at 1500 degC for 10 hrs. Kang et al synthesized the phosphors by nitrate-citrate gel combustion method using microwave irradiation as a heating source for at least 6 hrs. This paper reports the synthesis of Ce:TAG with solgel technique followed by the sintering of the precursor by 80W unfocussed CW CO2 laser. The crystalline phase is obtained in about 2 hours compared to 10 hours needed by conventional furnace sintering. XRD, SEM and optical methods have been employed for the characterization of the samples