Microwave sintering study of strontium-doped lanthanum manganite in a single-mode microwave with electric and magnetic field at 2.45 GHz

Abstract

[EN] The objective of this work is to study the changes in the physical and mechanical properties of strontium-doped lanthanum manganite (LSM) material and LSM-YSZ (ZrO2 doped with 8 mol% yttria) composite, obtained by colloidal processing and sintered by 2.45 GHz microwave sintering at 1200 and 1300 ¿C using two different single-mode cavities. One circular cavity with TE111 mode that has maximum in the electric field (E-field) and one rectangular cavity with TE102 mode that has maximum in the magnetic field (H-field). As compared to conventional sintering at 1300 and 1400 ¿C, the microwave-heated samples exhibited a denser structure for shorter sintering times. LSM-based materials showed higher heating behavior in H-field, which translates into higher energy absorption. This fact can be attributed to an electromagnetic pressure induced by the combined effect of current loops subjected to H-field. Therefore, the interaction between the material and the electromagnetic waves depends on the dominant field of them.