Researchers at Tomsk Polytechnic University have developed a mechanical surface treatment method to enhance the luminescence of ceramic materials. This approach avoids the need for expensive equipment or chemical reagents, focusing instead on modifying surface roughness using silicon carbide abrasive paper.
The study focused on functionally graded ceramics based on yttrium-stabilized zirconia and yttrium-aluminum garnet, doped with cerium and europium ions. The team found that the material's response to mechanical treatment depends heavily on its microstructure and grain size.
For cerium-activated composites, increasing surface roughness to 0.83 micrometers improved photoluminescence efficiency from 20% to 24%. Researchers attribute this to the removal of a non-luminescent surface layer, which restored access to active luminescent centers without damaging the material.
In contrast, europium-doped fine-grained systems showed no improvement in performance following mechanical treatment. The findings, published in Ceramics International, provide guidelines for designing high-efficiency ceramic components for optoelectronics.
