Rare earth phosphors

Rare-earth metals Rare-earth phosphors Rare earths... 

Feng ZY, Zhuang WD, Huang XW, Wen XF, Hu YS (2010) Effect of Mgpz-HsBOs flux on the properties of (Ce, Tb) MgAluO]9 phosphor. Rare Earths 28 351... 

Lanthanide luminescence apphcations have already reached industrial levels of consumption. Additionally, the strongly specific nature of the rare-earths energy emissions has also led to extensive work in several areas such as photostimulable phosphors, lasers (qv), dosimetry, and fluorescent immunoassay (qv) (33). 

The cost of rare-earth phosphors in fluorescent lamps is often reduced by double coating the lamps. The rare-earth phosphor blend is coated over a base layer of the inexpensive halophosphate phosphor (Fig. 9). In this configuration it absorbs a disproportionate amount of the uv discharge. For example, about 70% of the uv is absorbed in the inner coating with only one layer of triphosphor particles on the inside. 

Fig. 9. A modem fluorescent lamp coating including a conductive layer of Sn02 F, then a protective coating of finely divided alumina, followed by the inexpensive halophosphate phosphor, and finally a thin layer of the triphosphor rare-earth blend.

In order to make an efficient Y202 Eu ", it is necessary to start with weU-purifted yttrium and europium oxides or a weU-purifted coprecipitated oxide. Very small amounts of impurity ions, particularly other rare-earth ions, decrease the efficiency of this phosphor. Ce " is one of the most troublesome ions because it competes for the uv absorption and should be present at no more than about one part per million. Once purified, if not already coprecipitated, the oxides are dissolved in hydrochloric or nitric acid and then precipitated with oxaflc acid. This precipitate is then calcined, and fired at around 800°C to decompose the oxalate and form the oxide. EinaHy the oxide is fired usually in air at temperatures of 1500—1550°C in order to produce a good crystal stmcture and an efficient phosphor. This phosphor does not need to be further processed but may be milled for particle size control and/or screened to remove agglomerates which later show up as dark specks in the coating. 

The GdAlgB O QiCe ", Tb " is synthesized by a soHd-state firing of the rare-earth coprecipitated oxide plus boric acid and MgCO at 900° C in a slightly reducing atmosphere. As in the case of the lanthanum phosphate phosphor, a flux is usually used. The synthesis of this phosphor is further comphcated, however, by the fact that it is a ternary system and secondary phases such as gadolinium borate form and must then react to give the final phosphor. 

Divalent europium-activated BaECl was the first rare-earth-activated x-ray phosphor (24). The advantage of BaECLEu " over the conventional CaWO material is in the higher x-ray absorption and better x-ray-to-visible light conversion. The problem with BaECl for x-ray appHcation is in the lower density (4.56 g/cm vs 6 g/cm for CaWO and plate-like morphology. 

The blue-emitting component of most television screens and computer terminals is another sulfide, ZnS Ag,Al. Although rare-earth activated blue-emitting phosphors ZnS Tm " and Sr (P0 2d-Eu (30) have also been evaluated for this appHcation, the search for a good blue phosphor that does not saturate at high current densities and maintains weU continues. 

Rare earth oxides and phosphors Ceramics (AI2O3) and glasses Mining ores and rocks Superconductors and precursor materials Thin films... 

A detailed study of two rare-earth metals under one set of reaction conditions, for example, yielded the two composition phase diagrams, shown in Fig. 14.2, for the Fu and La thiophosphate systems [3]. To prepare these phase diagrams, we varied the alkah metal, the rare-earth metal, and the phosphorous concentration to kept the sulfur concentration constant We prepared similar studies in... 

Fig. 14.3 Polyhedral packing plots for the two-dimensional layers of [RE(P2S6),/2(PS4)P in the series of solids A2RE(P2S6)i/2(PS4), where A=K, Cs RE = Y, La. Rare-earth polyhedra are striped PS4 polyhedra are black phosphorous atoms in P2S6 are shown as black circles. Alkali atoms are not shown for clarity. Although these phases have distinctly different structures based on space group symmetry and atomic positions, the compounds are clearly related upon close inspection of the building blocks.

Anhydrous permanganic acid, 15 596-597 Anhydrous phosphoric acid, 18 817-818 Anhydrous rare-earth salts, 14 634 Anhydrous silica... 

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