A quantitative analysis of the laser sintering of bismuth titanate ceramics

The aim of this study was to identify the main differences on the kinetic aspects of conventional and laser sintering of bismuth titanate Bi4Ti3O12. The linear shrinkage, relative density and average grain size of the ceramics were measured for initial, intermediate and final stages of laser and conventional sintering. It was observed that laser sintering was 10 times faster than the conventional sintering processes. Also laser sintered ceramics reach 99% density at significantly lower temperatures than that registered for the conventional process. Theoretical models were fitted to the experimental data in order to determine the kinetic sintering parameters. Remarkable differences were observed between the activation energy (initial and final stages) and mass transport mechanism (final stage) determined for the laser and conventional sintering. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.