In situ observation of evolution of internal structure of alumina during sintering by swept-source OCT

In situ observation of sintering of ceramics is important to understand the sintering behavior, including the development of internal structures, and to fabricate ceramics with superior properties. However, there has been no studies thus far on high-speed in situ observation of the internal structure of green and sintered bodies at high temperatures with micrometer-scale resolution. Here, we applied swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) to observe the evolution of the internal structure in Al₂O₃ green bodies during sintering. In situ OCT observations revealed that internal structure changes during sintering, such as the development of density distribution and growth of coarser pores. We could also obtain the sintering shrinkage ratio and relative density from the OCT images. The OCT observation of the internal structure during sintering of green bodies with added or stacked granules of different primary particle sizes confirmed that inhomogeneous regions developed as the densification progressed at high temperatures. These results indicate that in situ observation of the sintering behavior of ceramic green bodies using swept-source OCT is a novel technique that facilitates real-time observation of the evolution of the internal structure during sintering.     

Deformation behaviors and fracture strength of β$\ubeta$-Si3N4 single crystals

In this study, the yield stress and fracture strength of $\beta$-Si₃N₄ single crystals were directly measured by bending tests of microcantilever beam specimens that were prepared by a focused ion beam method. The $\beta$-Si₃N₄ single crystals were plastically deformed at room temperature under high bending stress, and the yield stress depended on the crystal orientation. Transmission electron microscopy observation of the specimens after bending tests indicates that the plastic deformation resulted from dislocations in the primary slip system $\{10\overline{1}0\}$<0001>, and the critical resolved shear stress of this slip system determined from the yield stress was 1.34 GPa. The fracture strength of $\beta$-Si₃N₄ single crystals ranged approximately up to 20 GPa, depending on the crystal orientation as with the yield stress. The fracture behavior of $\beta$-Si₃N₄ single crystals was discussed in terms of the accumulation of dislocations.