• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.394-401
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• 2017

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to compare the optical properties of pre-colored dental monolithic zirconia ceramics of various thicknesses sintered in a microwave and those in a conventional furnace. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A2-shade of pre-colored monolithic zirconia ceramic specimens ($22.0mm{\times}22.0mm$) in 3 thickness groups of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mm were divided into 2 subgroups according to the sintering methods (n=9): microwave and conventional sintering. A spectrophotometer was used to obtain CIELab color coordinates, and translucency parameters and CIEDE2000 color differences (${\Delta}E_{00}$) were measured. The relative amount of monoclinic phase ($X_m$) was estimated with x-ray diffraction. The surface topography was analyzed by atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscope. Statistical analyses were conducted with two-way ANOVA (${\alpha}=.05$). RESULTS. There were small interaction effects on CIE $L^*$, $a^*$, and TP between sintering method and thickness (P<.001): $L^*$ (partial eta squared ${{\eta}_p}^2=0.115$), $a^*$ (${{\eta}_p}^2=0.136$), and TP (${{\eta}_p}^2=0.206$), although higher $b^*$ values were noted for microwave sintering regardless of thickness. Color differences between two sintering methods ranged from 0.52 to 0.96 ${\Delta}E_{00}$ units. The $X_m$ values ranged from 7.03% to 9.89% for conventional sintering, and from 7.31% to 9.17% for microwave sintering. The microwave-sintered specimen demonstrated a smoother surface and a more uniform grain structure compared to the conventionally-sintered specimen. CONCLUSION. With reduced processing time, microwave-sintered pre-colored dental monolithic zirconia ceramics can exhibit similar color perception and translucency to those by conventional sintering.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2020

This study investigated the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of lead-free 0.74(Bi_1/2Na_1/2)TiO₃-0.26SrTiO₃ (BNST26) piezoelectric ceramics sintered using a microwave furnace. For comparison, specimens were also prepared using a conventional furnace sintering (CFS). Average grain sizes of 2.4 ㎛ and 3.2 ㎛ were obtained in the sample sintered at 1,100℃ for 5 min using microwave sintering (MWS) and at 1,175℃ for 2 h using CFS, respectively. To quantify the changes in the microstructures and electrical properties according to the sintering conditions, the polarization hysteresis, bipolar and unipolar strain curves, and temperature dependence of permittivity were evaluated. As a result, it was determined that the P_max (maximum polarization), P_r (remanent polarization) and S_max (maximum strain) values tend to increase with the average grain size. Based on these results, it is concluded that the MWS method can produce lead-free ceramics with superior performance in a relatively short time compared to the conventional CFS method.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.702-706
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• 2014

A comparative study has been attempted for microwave and conventional sintering of lead-free $Bi_{0.5}Na_{0.5}TiO_3(BNT)$-based multilayer ceramic actuators(MLAs). It was found that microwave sintering (MWS) could be successfully applied to the co-firing of piezoceramic/AgPd MLAs with a 10 times shorter firing cycle as well as $100^{\circ}C$ lower firing temperature ($850^{\circ}C$) for sufficient densification than conventional furnace sintering ($950^{\circ}C$). Furthermore, MWS-derived specimens showed better electric field-induced strain than that of CFS-derived specimens by effectively suppressing interdiffusions between ceramic and electrode layers.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.352-355
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• 1998

Dense $ Pb(Zr, Ti)O_3(PZT)/Al_2O_3$ nanocomposites were prepared by the 28 GHz microwave heating method and conventional electric furnace sintering. Electrical and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The fracture strength of the PZT composites with 0.1vol% $Al_2O_3$ was significantly improved in both sintering methods. Smaller grain size and effective reinforcement of the PZT matrix by the second phase were considered to be responsible for the excellent fracture strength. Planar electromechanical coupling factor Kp of the composites sintered by 28GHz microwave heating was higher than that of the materical prepared by the conventional route. It seemed that the control of the reaction between PZT and $Al_2O_3$ by the microwave rapid sintering resulted in the high piezoelectric properties.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.11-21
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• 2012

Purpose: Densification and mechanical properties of dental zirconia ceramics were evaluated by different sintering methods. Materials and Methods: Y-TZP zirconia block(Kavo $Everest^{(R)}$ ZS blank, Kavo dental GmbH, Bismarckring, Germany) was used in this study. Sintering were performed in heat sintering furnace and microwave sintering furnace, and then experimented and analyzed on a change in densification according to the sintering time, a change in densification according to thickness, flexural strength and micro-structure in zirconia specimens. Results: Microwave sintering was very effective in considerable mechanical properties such as flexural strength and bulk density was drastically increased than conventional electric heating method. It is also shown that microwave sintering time was faster and more economical than common method to be present in qualities which equal or exceed. Conclusion: It will be important to seek the accurate sintering condition of dental zirconia by microwave sintering method and the continuous research is necessary for the study of relationship between sintering methods and mechanical properties.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.11 no.4 s.33
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• pp.37-41
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• 2004

As mobile communication devices use wide bands for large data transmission, Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic(LTCC) has been a candidate for module substrate, for it provides better electrical properties and enables various embedded passive devices compared to conventional PCB. The LTCC, however, has applied in limited area because of non-uniform shrinkage. Hybrid heating was developed to raise sample temperature uniformly in a short period of time This leads to unidirectional sintering which enables sample to be sintered layer by layer from the bottom, resulting in more stable shape of interconnection at the top surface of the sample than conventional electric furnace heating. When sintering properties of substrate and electrical/mechanical properties of interconnection were compared, hybrid heating showed possibility to be applicable to substrate miniaturization and interconnection densification superior to electric furnace heating.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.797-803
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• 2004

The heat generation tests of SiC and MO$_2$ samples by use of a microwave heating system were carried out and UO$_2$+5 wt% CeO$_2$ pellets were sintered in a microwave furnace in an oxidizing atmosphere, by taking into account the characteristics of the microwave heating obtained from the heat generation tests. The characteristics of pellets sintered in a microwave furnace were analysed and compared with those of the pellets sintered in a conventional electrical furnace. The temperature of MO$_2$ pellets with microwave heating increased quickly with input power and the variation of output power depended on the reaction characteristics of SiC and MO$_2$ with microwave. The sintered density of UO$_2$+5wt% CeO$_2$ pellets sintered in the microwave furnace was lower about 2% T.D. than that of the pellets sintered in an electrical furnace with sintering parameters. The microstructure of pellets sintered in microwave furnace has a broader pore distribution but has a larger grain size than that of the pellets sintered in the electrical furnace.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.256-259
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• 2014

A magnetic powder, M-type barium hexaferrite (BaFe12O19), was consolidated with the spark plasma sintering process. Three different holding temperatures, $850^{\circ}C$, $875^{\circ}C$ and $900^{\circ}C$ were applied to the spark plasma sintering process with the same holding times, heating rates and compaction pressure of 30 MPa. The relative density was measured simultaneously with spark plasma sintering and the convergent relative density after cooling was found to be proportional to the holding temperature. The full relative density was obtained at $900^{\circ}C$ and the total sintering time was only 33.3 min, which was much less than the conventional furnace sintering method. The higher holding temperature also led to the higher saturation magnetic moment (${\sigma}_s$) and the higher coercivity ($H_c$) in the vibrating sample magnetometer measurement. The saturation magnetic moment (${\sigma}_s$) and the coercivity ($H_c$) obtained at $900^{\circ}C$ were 56.3 emu/g and 541.5 Oe for each.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.226-230
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• 2013

We performed high pressure high temperature (HPHT) sintering for the 20 nm MgO powders at the temperatures from $600^{\circ}C$ to $1200^{\circ}C$ for only 5 min under 7 GPa pressure condition. To investigate the microstructure evolution and physical property change of the HPHT sintered MgO samples, we employed a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), density and Vickers hardness measurements. The SEM results showed that the grain size of the sintered MgO increased from 200 nm to $1.9{\mu}m$ as the sintering temperature increased. The density results showed that the sintered MgO achieved a more than 95% of the theoretical density in overall sintering temperature range. Based on Vickers hardness test, we confirmed that hardness increased as temperature increased. Our results implied that we might obtain the dense sintered MgO samples with an extremely short time and low temperature HPHT process compared to conventional electrical furnace sintering process.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.9 no.8
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• pp.836-850
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• 1996

In this study, we have analyzed structural analysis and measured ferroelectric characteristics of PZT thin films prepared by sol gel process with different sintering conditions and different Zr/Ti mot%. When the Zr mot% of PZT thin film was increased, it was found that the remanent. polarization and coercive field were decreased and increased, respectively. Also, the maxium dielectric constant of PZT(50/50) thin film was 786.8. We got double hysteresis(anti-fcrroelectric) curve from PbZrO$_{3}$ thin film. As heating rate goes up, pyrochlore phase of PZT thin film was decreased and dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics were improved. As a result of variation of sintering temperature and time 500.deg. C-800.deg. C and 5 sec.-8 hours, respectively, we got optimal sintering temperature and time. The optimium sintering temperature and time of conventional furnace method and rapid thermal processing method were 650.deg. C-700.deg. C for 30-60 minutes and 700.deg. C/20 seconds-2 minutes, respectively.