title: Combinatorial synthesis of phosphors using arc-imaging furnace.
abstract: We have applied a novel 'melt synthesis technique' rather than a conventional solid-state reaction to rapidly synthesize phosphor materials. During a synthesis, the mixture of oxides or their precursors is melted by light pulses (10-60 s) in an arc-imaging furnace on a water-cooled copper hearth to form a globule of 1-5 mm diameter, which is then rapidly cooled by turning off the light. Using this method, we synthesized several phosphor compounds including Y3Al5O12:Ce(YAG) and SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy. Complex phosphor oxides are difficult to produce by conventional solid-state reaction techniques because of the slow reaction rates among solid oxides; as a result, the oxides form homogeneous compounds or solid solutions. On the other hand, melt reactions are very fast (10-60 s) and result in homogeneous compounds owing to rapid diffusion and mixing in the liquid phase. Therefore, melt synthesis techniques are suitable for preparing multi component homogeneous compounds and solid solutions.
authors.affiliation: Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Niigata University, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishigaki
authors.affiliation: Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Niigata University, Japan; Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toda
authors.affiliation: Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Niigata University, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uematsu
authors.affiliation: Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Niigata University, Japan; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Niigata University, Japan.
authors.forename: Mineo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
keywords: arc-imaging furnace; combinatorial; melt; phosphor