Elsevier, Materials Research Bulletin, 6(43), p. 1412-1419
DOI: 10.1016/j.materresbull.2007.06.043
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Textured SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) ceramics were fabricated via templated grain growth (TGG) technique using platelet-like SBT single crystal templates. The templates (5wt%) were embedded in a fine-grain SBT powder matrix containing 3wt% of Bi2O3 excess that were subjected to uniaxial pressing and sintering at 1000–1250°C for up to 24h. Microstructural characterization by SEM was performed to establish the effect of sintering parameters on the grain growth and texture development. It was found that the ceramics developed a bimodal microstructure with notable concentration of large (longer than 90μm) aligned grains with c-axis oriented parallel to the pressing direction. The mechanism controlling the texture development and grain growth in SBT ceramics is discussed.