Phosphor materials have fascinating applications in the field of photovoltaic and biosensors but low quantum yield is a major hurdle in their applications. In this paper, the influence of surface plasmon on the photoluminescence is investigated with surface modified YAG:Ce³⁺-Yb³⁺coupled with spherical gold nanoparticles.

The YAG:Ce³⁺-Yb³⁺ photoluminescence band ratio Yb/Ce rise from 0.25 to 0.32 with the plasmon effects. For the photoluminescence, the decay time of Ce reduces from 31.9 ns to 29.9 ns while for Yb from 54.2 ms to 52.0 ms respectively.

Further, the plasmon absorption peak is also observed in the spectra of YAG:Ce³⁺-Yb³⁺/Au nanoparticles system.

The results indicate that the field inside the phosphors has been modulated with surface plasmon of gold nanoparticles.