Abstract
Generation of abnormally large grains in the microstructure of small grains has been investigated on some ferrites. Some fractions of large grains were observed in the microstructure of sintered ZnFe$_2$O$_4$, Mn-ZnFe$_2$O$_4$, Fe$_3$O$_4$(in N$_2$) and MnFe$_2$O$_4$(in air). On the other hand, the large grains were not observed in NiFe$_2$O$_4$ and CoFe$_2$O$_4$, independent of calcining and sintering conditions. The large grains seem to be generated in such ferrites that are easy to vary their compositions or valencies at high temperatures. As the sintering proceeded, the number of large grains was increasing to form a continuous structure consisting of large grains, while the size of large grains did not increase remarkably. In addition, the growth of small grains was also very slow during the generation of the large grains. The large grains appeared to be suddenly generated after some induction periods. Avrami equation could be applied to the relation between net volume of large grains and sintering time. Thus, the grain boundaries may be strongly stabilized when the large grains are generated. The large grain in generated by the local activation of the stabilized grain boundaries, which is caused by the variation of compositions or valencies during sintering. It is concluded that the essence of the abnormal grain growth is not the generation of abnormally large grains, but the abnormal stabilization and the local activation of the grain boundaries.