Crystal growth ceramic powders

Although these mixed metal alkoxide complexes are a means of obtaining atomic mixing of the various metals, the stoichiometric ratio of metals may or may not be that desired for the ceramic powder. A different stoichiometric ratio, n, for the same two metals is not likely to be precipitated out just because the initial solution contains a different stoichiometric ratio. Also for many electronic ceramic compositions it is desirable to have many other metals incorporated at the ppm level into the ceramic powder as sintering aids, grain growth inhibitors, and crystal phase stabilizers. Adding these otiier metals is very difficult... 

The main part of a conventional Verneuil apparatus is a vertical inverted oxyhydrogen burner. The burner consists of several concentric tubes [1, 2]. The inner tube supplies oxygen and crystal powder to the flame, which burns into a ceramic muffle. A seed crystal is positioned in such a manner that only a thin film of liquid phase is on the top surface of the crystal. If the powder supply, i.e. the feeding of molten droplets into the molten layer, and the crystal growth rate are weU balanced, the crystal will grow under constant conditions. The principal design and operation of a Verneuil flame fusion apparatus was described earlier [3]. 

Since the initial introduction of laser diffraction instrumentation in the 1970s, many different applications to panicle si/e aniilysis have been reported. Ihese have included measurements of si/e distributions of radioactive tracer particles, ink particles used in photocopy machines, zirconia fibers, alumina particles, droplets from electronic fuel injectors, crystal growth particles, coal powders, cosmetics, soils, resins, pharmaceuticals, metal catalysts, electronic materials, phoiugraphic emulsions, organic pigments, and ceramics. About a dozen instrument companies now produce LALLS instruments. Some I.AI.LS instruments have become popular as detectors for size-exclusion chromatography. 

Crystal size is usually less sensitive and is independent of environment. Heat treatment does, of course, cause an increase in crystal size, and crystal growth may be followed all the way through a complete ceramic fabrication process. Thus while a particular oxide or metal powder produced by a chemical process may have a crystallite size of 10-100 A, subsequent heat treatment (calcination) by which the powder is prepared for slip-casting, dry pressing, etc., may increase the crystal size to about 0.01-0.1 //, and from the final sintering process a crystal size of about 100 // may result. 

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