Ceramic complex, light emitting device, and method for producing ceramic complex

A method for producing a ceramic complex, comprising:

• preparing a raw material mixture containing first rare earth aluminate fluorescent material particles containing an activating element and a first rare earth element that is different from the activating element, and aluminum oxide particles;
• preparing a molded body by molding the raw material mixture;
• and
• obtaining a sintered body by calcining the molded body at a temperature in a range of 1,550° C. or higher and 1,800° C. or lower,
• the raw material mixture having a content of the first rare earth aluminate fluorescent material particles in a range of 5% by mass or more and 40% by mass or less, and a content of the aluminum oxide particles in a range of 57% by mass or more and 95% by mass or less, based on a total amount of the raw material mixture, and
• the sintered body including a first crystal phase containing the first rare earth aluminate fluorescent material particles and a second crystal phase containing the aluminum oxide particles,
• having an average value of a second crystal diameter of the second crystal phase contained in the sintered body measured under the following measurement condition of 12 μm or less, and
• having a QD value of 0.5 or less expressed by QD=(D75−D25)/(D75+D25), wherein D25 and D75 represent values of the second crystal diameter at cumulative values from a small diameter side of a particle diameter distribution curve of the second crystal diameter of 25% and 75%, respectively:
• measurement condition:
• in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of a cross section of the ceramic complex obtained with a scanning electron microscope, a maximum width of the crystal phase delimited by a grain boundary on the cross section and a minimum width passing a center point of the maximum width are measured, an average of the maximum width and the minimum width is designated as a crystal diameter, and an arithmetic average value of the crystal diameters in a specific size area in the SEM images with the same magnification is designated as the average value of the crystal diameter.