| abstract |
A blue fluorescent material having excellent durability and a high luminance, especially one emitting a high-luminance light by the action of electron rays. The fluorescent material comprises inorganic crystals having a crystal structure which is an AlN crystalline, AlN polycrystalline, or AlN solid-solution crystalline structure. It is characterized in that the inorganic crystals contain at least europium in solution and have an oxygen content of 0.4 mass% or lower and that the fluorescent material emits fluorescence derived from divalent europium ions upon irradiation with an excitation source. More preferably, the fluorescent material contains a given metallic element and silicon. Also provided are a process for producing the fluorescent material and an illuminator including the blue fluorescent material. |