Czochralski growth of YAG:Ce in a reducing protective atmosphere

Abstract Ce 3+ ions cause the destruction of colour centres in YAG crystals grown under a reducing protective atmosphere. The more transparent Ce 3+ -doped YAG crystals have a relatively large region submerged in the melt and form a strongly conical interface during growth. This phenomenon brings about the possibility of the growth of relatively perfect crystals. Using molybdenum crucibles, the crystals are free from impurities which cause luminescence quenching of Ce 3+ and, after oxygen annealing, they may be used as efficient cathode-ray excited phosphors.