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Yttrium

Colour television would not be the same without the yttrium compounds – phosphors – that produce the red colour. This soft, silvery-white element is found in various minerals on Earth, and occurs as a free element in the Moon's rocks.

Synthetic garnet crystals are produced from combinations of yttrium with other elements. In combination with aluminum, yttrium produces a gemstone that simulates diamond. A magnetic yttrium-iron garnet is an effective microwave filter.

Common industrial solid state lasers are the Nd-YAG and YVO₄ lasers that are employed in industrial (cutting, welding, drilling, etc.), medical, remote sensing, and other applications. Yttrium is used in many lasers since compounds, such as YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet – Y₃Al₅O₁₂) and yttrium vanadate (YVO₄), form high optical quality single crystals that can be grown in quite large sizes. These crystals have mechanical, thermal, and optical properties that make them good hosts for active laser ions, such as Nd³⁺, and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) is studying the development of these crystals for laser applications.