High-pressure spark plasma sintering of MgO-doped transparent alumina

Abstract

Transparent alumina doped with MgO is fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) under high pressures. An optimum sintering condition explored by changing the combination of the applied pressure and sintering temperature led to an in-line transmission close to the maximum reported for alumina in earlier studies. The effects of pressure on both grain size and transmission are strongly dependent on the sintering temperature: negligible effect at low temperatures and significant effect at high temperatures.