Combined Sintering of Yttrium Oxide-Stabilized Zirconium Dioxide Using Electron Beam Irradiation in the Forevacuum Pressure Region

We have explored the influence of combined sintering modes on the structural-phase state, density, microhardness and internal structure of ceramics based on yttrium oxide-stabilized zirconium oxide (Y‑PSZ). The combined sintering was carried out using two methods: traditional thermal sintering at atmospheric pressure and electron beam sintering in the forevacuum pressure range. Our results indicate that the temperature of preliminary thermal sintering significantly affects the ceramic properties. The greatest change in density is achieved at a pre-sintering temperature of more than 700°C. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals an increase in the percentage of tetragonal phase and a decrease in cubic and monoclinic phases with increase in temperature of subsequent sintering using an electron beam. The density was 92.2% of the theoretical value at a sintering temperature of 1450°C. The microhardness of the surface reaches 16 GPa and is practically independent of pre-sintering temperature.