Preparation and characterization of YAG:Ce thin phosphor films by pulsed laser deposition

We report the use of YAG:Ce phosphor as the raw material to make thin and transparent phosphor films with pulsed laser deposition including the effects of heating temperature, target–substrate distances, annealing times, and annealing atmosphere on the YAG:Ce³⁺ phosphor film crystal types and spectral properties. The results indicated that at a coating temperature of 350°C, the YAG:Ce³⁺ phosphor film had the best crystallinity with an intact film and maximum fluorescence emission. The crystallinity and fluorescence emission intensity of the film gradually decreased as a function of increasing target–substrate distances. As the annealing time increased, the crystallinity and the fluorescence emission intensity of the film first increased and then decreased. The film made with 5 h of annealing had the best crystallinity and the highest fluorescence emission intensity. The crystallinity of the film annealed under air was higher than that made under nitrogen; the fluorescence intensity of the film under air was slightly lower than the film under nitrogen. The emission peak of the prepared film was at 523 nm when excited at 450 nm. This is slightly blue‐shifted versus the emission of commercial phosphor powders. This study offers a theoretical basis for the development of transparent phosphor films.