Mechanical properties of 2.45 GHz microwave sintered Si3N4-Y2O3-MgO-ZrO2 system

Mechanical properties of 2.45 GHz microwave sintered Si3N4-Y2O3-MgO-ZrO2 system have been investigated. Microwave sintered samples exhibited higher hardness compared to conventionally sintered samples. SEM microstructures of microwave sintered samples revealed lower average grain length and width than those of the conventionally sintered samples. Fracture toughness increased with increasing sintering temperature in the case of conventionally sintered samples whereas microwave sintered samples exhibited no variation despite differences in microstructure. The results of present study demonstrated that microwave sintering could influence the microstructure and thereby improve the mechanical properties. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.