Synthesizing Phosphors Through Microwave Process

Abstract

Various Lamp phosphors, including [Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6 (Cl,F):Sb:Mn], (Y,Eu) 2 O 3 (YOE), BaMgAl 10 O 17 :Eu (BAM), and (La,Ce)PO 4 :Ce:Tb (LAP), with or without flux, have been synthesized by a microwave processing technique in a multimode microwave furnace operating at 2.45 GHz. The microwave-synthesized phosphors were comprehensively characterized for particle size, specific surface area, brightness, and luminescence. Although most properties of the microwave-synthesized phosphors were comparable to that of the conventional products, the kinetics of the phosphor synthesis was substantially enhanced in the microwave processing. As a result, the soaking time at the final temperature was reduced by up to 90% compared to a conventional process. In addition, the required synthesis temperature was also lowered by 100-200°C in microwave process, compared to the conventional process for these lamp phosphors. Certain improved property was also observed in some microwave synthesized samples. The mechanism and advantages of microwave process for the lamp phosphor synthesis through solidstate reaction are addressed.