Densification and Phase Transformation in Multi-Layered Graded SiN-TiN Components Produced by Field-Assisted Sintering.

The structural and/or functional design of multiphase ceramics, along with their processing, are timely research topics in the area of field-assisted sintering techniques, such as spark plasma sintering, especially for systems containing both electrically insulating and conductive phases. In the present study, spark plasma sintering of SiN-TiN composites was investigated by changing the TiN particle size and electrical current waveform. Their combined effects on both the densification behavior and α-to-β phase conversion of the SiN matrix was studied and compared by means of a thermodynamic approach and dilatometric measurements.