Phase Characterization of Partially Stabilized Zirconia by Raman Spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize phase transformations and transition temperatures in partially stabilized zirconia containing ≤20 wt% Y₂O₃. The completeness of the martensitic transition and its thermal hysteresis was followed in samples with ≤4 wt% Y₂O₃. Between 5 and 12 wt% the spectra indicate a tetragonal modification precipitated in a disordered cubic fluorite matrix. Above 15 wt% a "density of states" spectrum prevails that is characteristic of the fully stabilized disordered cubic phase.