THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ZRO2 ENGINEERING CERAMICS BY AC IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY

The correlation between ionic conductivity as determined by ac complex plane analysis and ceramic alloy microstructure as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and analyzed by X-ray diffraction is explored for different compositions within the Y//2O//3-ZrO//2 system. It is shown that conductivity data can be interpreted readily in terms of the microstructural characteristics both at intergranular sites and at intragranular sites, yielding information useful to the development of ZrO//2 ceramics for structural applications.