Abstract:
Phosphors consisting essentially of a host material having a face-centered cubic crystal structure and the empirical formula YTa. sub. 3 O. sub. 9 or Y. sub. 3 TaO. sub. 7 wherein 0. 01 to 0. 10 mol percent of the Y is replaced with at least one trivalent activator cation. A portion of the Y up to 20 mol percent may also be replaced with at least one trivalent nonactivator cation, such as Gd, La and Lu. The phosphors may be excited with ultraviolet light, x-rays or cathode rays to emit in the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum depending on the excitation and the activator cations present.