A systematic study of various spark plasma sintering (SPS) parameters, namely temperature, holding time, heating rate, pressure, and pulse sequence, was conducted to investigate their effect on the densification, grain‐growth kinetics, hardness, and fracture toughness of a commercially available submicrometer‐sized Al2O3 powder. The obtained experimental data clearly show that the SPS process enhances both densification and grain growth. Thus, Al2O3 could be fully densified at a much lower temperature (1150°C), within a much shorter time (minutes), than in more conventional sintering processes. It is suggested that the densification is enhanced in the initial part of the sintering cycle by a local spark‐discharge process in the vicinity of contacting particles, and that both grain‐boundary diffusion and grain‐boundary migration are enhanced by the electrical field originating from the pulsed direct current used for heating the sample. Both the diffusion and the migration that promote the grain growth were found to be strongly dependent on temperature, implying that it is possible to retain the original fine‐grained structure in fully densified bodies by avoiding a too high sintering temperature. Hardness values in the range 21–22 GPa and fracture toughness values of 3.5 ± 0.5 MPa·m1/2 were found for the compacts containing submicrometer‐sized Al2O3 grains.

Ceramics based on Si(3)N(4) have been comprehensively studied and are widely used in structural applications. The development of an interlocking microstructure of elongated grains is vital to ensure that this family of ceramics have good damage tolerance. Until now this has been accomplished by heating the appropriate powder compacts to temperatures above 1,700 degrees C for extended periods. This procedure involves a necessary step of controlling the size and population of seeds added ex situ or formed in situ to ensure selective grain growth. Here we report the very fast (within minutes) in situ formation of a tough interlocking microstructure in Si(3)N(4)-based ceramics. The microstructures are obtained by a dynamic ripening mechanism, an anisotropic Ostwald ripening process that results from the rapid heating rate. The resulting microstructures are uniform and reproducible in terms of grain size distribution and mechanical properties, and are easily tailored by manipulating the kinetics. This process is very efficient and opens up new possibilities to optimize mechanical properties and cost-effectively manufacture ceramics.

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96.3, 93.0, 91.3, 90.5, 87.2, 40.2, 29.7

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