Low temperature degradation of laser patterned 3Y-TZP: Enhancement of resistance after thermal treatment

Laser patterning decreases the resistance to LTD of 3Y-TZP because of the presence of monoclinic phase and residual stresses, induced by the thermal shock during laser-material interaction. A thermal treatment (1 h at 1200 °C) anneals the affected microstructure and increase the resistance to LTD of laser patterned 3Y-TZP. Transformation delay may be attributed to monoclinic phase reversion, texture in the tetragonal phase and the existence of a net of shallow microcracks on the surface, accommodating autocatalytic transformation.