Fluorescence Output Enhancement of Ce3+:YAG Transparent Ceramics by Eutectic Soldering Packaging

This paper demonstrates the application of eutectic welding to Ce³⁺:YAG transparent ceramics for reliable detection and imaging of UV emission, particularly focusing on demanding conditions, such as high repetition rate, high energy, and high vacuum. A series of Ce³⁺:YAG transparent ceramics with different Ce³⁺ doping concentrations (0.1 at%, 0.3 at%, 0.5 at%, and 1.0 at%) were prepared via vacuum sintering. Their crystal microstructure, luminescence properties, transmittance, and fluorescence lifetime were studied. It was found that the optimal Ce³⁺ doping concentration is 0.3 at%. The measured ultraviolet-to-visible energy conversion efficiency of the 0.3 at% Ce³⁺:YAG transparent ceramics with a thickness of 1.0 mm is 3.9%. Compared with silicone encapsulated Ce³⁺:YAG transparent ceramic samples, the eutectic-soldered samples exhibited excellent resistance to temperature quenching of the luminescence, which indicates that eutectic welding can effectively improve the fluorescence performance of Ce³⁺:YAG transparent ceramics for the application of deep ultraviolet light detection.