Red, green and blue (RGB) emission doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) phosphors prepared by non-hydrolytic sol–gel route

An evolutionary optimization process involving combination chemistry was employed in an attempt to develop Y3Al5O12 (YAG). The combination chemistry process utilized here consisted the doping of the YAG host with appropriate amounts of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) dopants in a single layer, for use in tricolor white light. The doped YAG was acieved by means of the non-hydrolytic sol–gel route. Four samples were prepared, three of which were mono-doped samples containing 1.0% of a certain lanthanide (Eu3+, Tb3+, or Tm3+) ion, while the fourth contained the three ions. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffractometry and photoluminescence. The diffraction pattern of the mono-doped samples synthered at 800 °C for 16 h displayed peaks corresponding to the Y3Al5O12 (YAG) phase, while the sample doped with the three ions revealed the presence of a mixture of Y3Al5O12 (YAG) and Y4Al2O9 (YAM) phases. The emission spectra of the three mono-doped YAG samples displayed the typical bands of the blue, green, and red emission of the corresponding lanthanide ions. As for the sample doped with the three lanthanide ions; it simultaneously emitted R, G and B lights. The green emission (546 nm) was more intense and narrow in relation to the red and blue emissions, which may be due to differences in the size of the three incorporated ions.