Surface modification of Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ phosphor by hydrofluoric acid wet etching

The surface of Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ phosphor prepared by solid-state reaction was modified by hydrofluoric acid wet etching. The SEM pictures show that the edge-angles-rich surface of the phosphor particles becomes smooth and the XRD spectra show that the surface crystallinity is improved after modification for more than 3 h. Consequently, the photoluminescence emission from phosphor particles with smooth surface presents a higher quantum yield (increased by 5.5%) than that without modification, and a lower backscattering light by the smoothed phosphor particles is also found, which suggests better surface characteristics of light absorption, transparency and crystallinity.