Fabrication of highly dense Al2O3 ceramics

A novel method using a high-temperature physical vapor transport method for the preparation of highly dense Al2O3 ceramics was developed. The results show that the microstructure of the dense Al2O3 ceramics showed directional distribution characteristics due to directional mass transfer. X-ray diffraction revealed the observed phases to be alpha-Al2O3. The dense Al2O3 ceramics had a bulk density of 3.95 g cm−3, a flexural strength of 510 ± 20 MPa and a Vickers hardness of 18.2 GPa.