Photoluminescence properties of yttria-stabilized zirconia single crystal

The photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectra of the single-crystal samples of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were measured. We found that the PL spectra of two samples for the 280-nm excitation significantly differ from one another in intensity, although the two samples have the same macrostructure and the same chemical composition. These results indicate that PL spectroscopy is a useful method for studying the microstructure of YSZ. The result of the trace-impurity analysis suggests that the large difference in PL intensity between the two samples can be explained by considering the influence of Nb in the YSZ sample. It seems that Nb in YSZ caused an yttria-associated defect. The broad emission band around 550 nm would be attributed to this defect. These results suggest that information can be obtained from its PL measurement not only on the yttria-associated defect, but also on the trace impurity in the YSZ.