PREPARATION OF MULTIPHASE MATERIALS WITH SPARK PLASMA SINTERING

Spark plasma sintering (SPS), also called Field Assisted Sintering Technique (FAST), represents a novel method of preparation of sintered materials from powders. The main advantage of the SPS method is a high achievable heat rate (> 200 degrees C/min) and high sintering temperatures (up to 2200 degrees C in our laboratory). Combination of high heating rate, rather high pressures (up to 80 MPa) and electric field fluctuations leads to an effective sintering and significant reduction of sintering time for both coarse-grained and nanocrystalline powders. Composite materials may be easily obtained by mixing or layering of different powders. The paper will introduce several examples of multiphase materials sintered by SPS at our institute and the establishment of procedures for routine testing of sub-sized specimens.