Study of cerium ion in (Y0.95La0.05)2O3:Ce

(Y0.95La0.05)2O3: Ce3+ nano-powder was synthesized by co-precipitation method and sintered at 800 and 900 °C. All the samples were cubic phase characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The samples sintered at the lower temperature exhibited luminescence. According to the distinguishable structure of Ce 3d peaks and the shift of O 1s lines in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), luminescence was further confirmed to originate from Ce3+ ions. Effects of introducing La3+ into Y2O3 were discussed and it showed that under 800 °C calcining, the existing of La3+ made it more easy for Ce3+ to dope into the host lattice.