Effective grain alignment in bismuth titanate ceramic by centrifugal force

Effective grain alignment in bismuth titanate ceramic was successfully realized by a novel pressure sintering technology, centrifugal sintering, in which centrifugal force is introduced by high-speed rotation of materials during the process of sintering. X-ray diffraction analyses indicated a very high orientation degree with a Lotgering factor f of ∼0.96 in centrifugal sintered samples. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the platelike grains are well oriented with their c axes parallel to centrifugal force. The mechanism responsible for grain alignment with introduction of centrifugal force was tentatively proposed.