This paper discusses howl the characteristics of the starting material affe
ct the structural and optical characteristics of a ceramic. The limiting pa
rameters ate determined for the synthesis of the starting powder and the ho
t pressing of an Y2O2S-Tb ceramic. It is shown that a luminescent optical c
eramic transparent to the intrinsic radiation is formed by texturing the ma
terial along the (001) plane. (C) 1999 The Optical Social of America.