Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.88, No.6, 1631-1633, 2005
Spark plasma sintering of bismuth titanate ceramics
Spark plasma sintering (SPS) was used to fabricate bismuth titanate (Bi4Ti3O12) ceramics. The densitication, microstructure development and dielectric properties were investigated. It was found that the densilication process was greatly enhanced during SPS. The sintering temperature was 200 degrees C lower and the microstructure was much finer than that of the pressureless sintered ceramics, and dense compacts with a high density, of over 99% were obtained at a wide temperature range of 800 degrees-1100 degrees C. Dielectric property measurement indicated that the volatilizartion of Bi3+ was greatly restrained during SPS, resulting in an unprecedented low dielectric loss for pure Bi4Ti3O12 ceramics.