Ce, Gd codoped YAG nanopowder for white light emitting device.

In the last years white light emitting devices have received increased attention and have been used in a wide range of applications due to their long lifetime, high luminescence efficiency, low power consumption and environment friendliness, compared to conventional light sources. The discovery and improvement of inorganic phosphors that can be excited by a GaN chip in the wavelength range 370-470 nm is essential for the efficiency and quality of the emitted light. In the white light emitting device technology, the phosphor preparation step is the most important and it's quality defines the "whiteness". The tunable yellow emission property of YAG:Ce phosphor may be improved by the incorporation of an additional codoping element. Ce, Gd codoped YAG phosphor nanopowder with an average grain size of 40 nm has been synthesized by a sol-gel method. Well-crystallized fine nanoparticles and the formation of the garnet phase have been obtained at 1000 degrees C. The chemical structure and morphology of YAG:Ce, Gd was studied.