Abstract
Scientists and engineers have significant problems in fabricating lead oxide based electroceramics. The primary stumbling block is the lack of control of lead oxide volatilization. Particularly problematic is the control of the growth of large crystals of ferroelectric compounds into useful devices of importance to the U.S. military and commerce. Researchers at Arizona State University have devised a method and apparatus for sensing and controlling lead oxide vapor pressure at high temperatures. The invention has capability of establishing a specific vapor pressure and automatically responds to changes in local environments by either absorbing or evolving lead oxide vapor as the situation demands. This device will find use in the fabrication of electroceramics, which contain lead oxide as a constituent. Lead oxide is problematic in that it is moderately volatile at the high temperatures that ceramics are typically fabricated. Devices built using this concept have the advantages of flexibility, compactness and reusability in mitigating volatilization losses.The original design is meant to operate in a typical laboratory environment. However, it can be scaled up for use in larger, commercial environments. This method would have application to not only ferroelectric relaxors but would have broader applications to the general field of lead oxide-based dielectrics.
| Original language | English (US) |
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| State | Published - Jun 29 2001 |