The invention provides Y.sub.2O.sub.3:RE nanoparticles having a cubic crystal structure, wherein RE is a trivalent rare earth metal ion. The invention further provides a method of preparing Y.sub.2O.sub.3:RE nanoparticles, comprising: a) providing a mixture comprising (i) an yttrium salt and/or yttrium alkoxide, (ii) a rare earth metal salt and/or rare earth metal alkoxide, and (iii) an organic solvent; b) optionally, subjecting the mixture to a pre-treatment step which comprises heating the mixture at a temperature of at least 80° C. and/or at a temperature such that crystal water and/or organic impurities are removed, c) heating the mixture at a temperature between 220° C. and 320° C. and/or at a temperature such that a precursor complex forms; d) subjecting the mixture to a precipitation stage, wherein a precipitate forms, said precipitation stage preferably comprising allowing the mixture to cool and/or adding an antisolvent to the mixture; and e) heating the precipitate at a temperature between 600° C. and 900° C. and/or at a temperature such that a cubic Y.sub.2O.sub.3 crystal structure forms, preferably for at least 10 minutes.

The present disclosure teaches an article of manufacture using an industrial (or commercial) manufacturing process. The article of manufacture comprises an infrared (IR) luminescent material that emits in the IR wavelength range (e.g., from approximately seven-hundred nanometers (˜700 nm) to approximately one millimeter (˜1 mm)) after being excited by incident wavelengths of between ˜100 nm and ˜750 nm (or visible light). In other words, once the material has been exposed to visible light, the material will continue to emit in the IR wavelength range for a period of time, even when the material is no longer exposed to the visible light.

A light emitting device includes: a first light emitting element that emits a first light component; a second light emitting element that emits a second light component; a first phosphor that emits a third light component; and a second phosphor that emits a fourth light component. A spectral distribution of the output light has a trough portion within a wavelength range of 650 nm or more and 750 nm or less, and a minimum intensity value within the wavelength range is less than 30% of a maximum intensity value within a wavelength range of 380 nm or more and 2500 nm or less.

It is an object of the present invention to improve light source efficiency of “a light-emitting device capable of realizing a natural, vivid, highly visible and comfortable appearance of colors or an appearance of objects” already arrived at by adopting a spectral power distribution having a shape completely different from the shape of conventionally known spectral power distributions while maintaining favorable color appearance characteristics.

A polymerizable composition includes at least one monomer, a photoinitiator capable of initiating polymerization of the monomer when exposed to light, and a phosphor capable of producing light when exposed to radiation (typically X-rays). The material is particularly suitable for bonding components at ambient temperature in situations where the bond joint is not accessible to an external light source. An associated method includes: placing a polymerizable adhesive composition, including a photoinitiator and energy converting material, such as a down-converting phosphor, in contact with at least two components to be bonded to form an assembly; and, irradiating the assembly with radiation at a first wavelength, capable of conversion (down-conversion by the phosphor) to a second wavelength capable of activating the photoinitiator, to prepare items such as inkjet cartridges, wafer-to-wafer assemblies, semiconductors, integrated circuits, and the like.

Examples of a monolithic phosphor composite for measuring a parameter of an object are disclosed. The ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite is used in an optical device for measuring the parameter of the measuring object. The device comprises a fiber optic probe with a light guide, a light source operatively coupled to the fiber optic probe to provide excitation light into the light guide, a monolithic ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite functionally coupled to a tip of the fiber optic probe, a sensor operatively coupled to the fiber optic probe to detect the emitted light and a processing unit functionally coupled to the sensor to process the emitted light. The monolithic ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite can be embedded in a notch made into the object or can be adhered to a surface of the object with a binder. When the monolithic ceramic metal oxide phosphor composite is illuminated with the excitation light it emits light in a wavelength different from the excitation light and a change in emission intensity at a single wavelength or the change in intensity ratio of two or more wavelengths, a shift in emission wavelength peak or a decay time of the phosphor luminescence is a function of the measuring parameter.

Persistent infrared (IR) phosphors are disclosed. In an embodiment a phosphor has the general formula: M1.sub.(m−k)Ga.sub.(2n−x−y−z)M2.sub.pO.sub.(rm+3n+2p:xSb.sup.3+,yM3,zD,kM4, wherein M1 is chosen from magnesium, calcium, barium, strontium, zinc, scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, gadolinium, lutetium, or bismuth, or combinations thereof; M2 is chosen from silicon, germanium, tin, titanium, zirconium, or combinations thereof; M3 is chosen from magnesium, aluminum, indium, scandium, or combinations thereof; M4 is chosen from praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, or combinations thereof; D is chosen from chromium, iron, nickel, manganese, or cobalt, or combinations thereof; and wherein 1≤m≤4; 1≤n≤3; 0≤p≤5; 0.0002≤x≤2n; 0≤y≤2n; 0.0001≤z≤0.1; 0≤k≤0.1; and r is selected from 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3.

A nanoparticle containing monoclinic lutetium oxide. A method of: dispersing a lutetium salt solution in a stream of oxygen gas to form droplets, and combusting the droplets to form nanoparticles containing lutetium oxide. The combustion occurs at a temperature sufficient to form monoclinic lutetium oxide in the nanoparticles. An article containing lutetium oxide and having an average grain size of at most 10 microns.

The present invention includes: a radiation detecting unit including a fluorescent body expressed by the formula ATaO.sub.4: B, C (in the formula, A is selected from at least one kind of element from among rare-earth elements involving 4f-4f transitions, B is selected from at least one kind of element, different from A, from among rare-earth elements involving 4f-4f transitions, and C is selected from at least one kind of element from among rare-earth elements involving 5d-4f transitions); an optical fiber that transmits photons generated by the fluorescent body; a light detector that converts the photons transmitted via the optical fiber 3 one by one into electrical pulse signals; a counter that counts the number of electrical pulse signals converted by the light detector; an analysis and display device 6 that obtains a radiation dose rate on the basis of the number of electrical pulse signals counted by the counter.

The present invention relates generally in part to BeO-based compounds that are capable of storing at least part of the energy of incident ionizing radiation and releasing at least part of the stored energy upon optical stimulation and heating. BeO-based compounds dosimetry was also developed in instrumentation, application and fundamental investigations. The present disclosure further relates the to the investigation of a BeO-based optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeter together with an OSL reader, and discusses the design and operation of an OSL reader, suitable to measure OSL emission of BeO-based dosimeters, for example beryllium oxide doped with sodium, dysprosium and erbium. The present disclosure further relates to the use of BeO-based compounds comprising BeO and at least one dopant selected from the group consisting of sodium, dysprosium and erbium as a fiber-coupled OSL dosimeter.