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Fabrication of high-strength transparent MgAl2O4 spinel polycrystals by optimizing spark-plasma-sintering conditions

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Abstract

By optimizing the heating rate during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing, a high-strength transparent spinel (MgAl2O4) can be successfully fabricated for only a 20-min soak at 1300 °C. For the heating rates of ≤10 °C/min, the spinel exhibits an excellent combination of in-line transmission (50–70%), four-point-bending strength (>400 MPa), and hardness (>15 GPa). The excellent optical and mechanical properties can be ascribed to the superimposed effects of the sub-micrograin size, fine-pore size, and low porosity, which are related closely to the heating rate during the SPS processing. The present study demonstrates that to attain a high-strength transparent spinel at low temperatures and short sintering times, the low-heating-rate SPS processing is more efficient compared with the high-heating-rate SPS processing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Materials Science, Nano-Ceramics Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0047, Japan

    Koji Morita, Byung-Nam Kim, Keijiro Hiraga & Hidehiro Yoshida

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  1. Koji Morita
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  2. Byung-Nam Kim
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  3. Keijiro Hiraga
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  4. Hidehiro Yoshida
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Correspondence to Koji Morita.

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Morita, K., Kim, BN., Hiraga, K. et al. Fabrication of high-strength transparent MgAl2O4 spinel polycrystals by optimizing spark-plasma-sintering conditions. Journal of Materials Research 24, 2863–2872 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2009.0335

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