A comparison of mm-wave Sintering and Fast Conventional Sintering of Nanocrystalline Al2O3

Abstract

AbstractThe phase transformation and densification behavior under high power millimeter-wave (mm-wave) radiation of a 30 GHz gyrotron and during fast conventional sintering of nanocrystalline γ-A12O3 powder have been investigated and compared. The powder used for compacts was synthesized from aluminum metal by application of the exploding wire technique in an oxidizing atmosphere. The particle size distribution of this powder has a maximum at about 20 nm. Magnetic pulse technique was applied for the compression of samples up to 80% of the theoretical density (TD). Both mm-wave sintering and fast firing in a conventional electrical resistance furnace enable the densification and a complete phase transformation into α-A12O3 already at a temperature of approximately 1150 %C. The average grain size of the sintered ceramic is in the range of 50 to 100 nm. With mm-waves densification starts at about 50 °C lower temperatures compared to conventional techniques and higher final densities were obtained already at 150°C lower temperatures.