Processes Affecting Microwave Sintering of ZTA Ceramics

The Al2O3-ZrO2 system was chosen to be fabricated by microwave sintering. The principal processes affecting the sintering rate were analysed on account of the properties of ZTA ceramics. The TE444 multi-mode microwave system was designed and a hybrid heating system was developed with well arranged aided heaters. The ZrO2 content in ZTA samples affected the microwave sintering rate, which showed the probability for the low-loss materials to be sintered by microwave process mixed with high-loss materials to raise their sintering rate. The increase of the inlet power made the temperature raise rapidly. The aging phenomena of the aided heaters lowered the sintering rate and the thermal runaway should be avoided to advance the sample properties.