Microstructure of the yttria doped Al2O3-ZrO2 eutectic fibers grown by the laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) method

In this work we study the influence of the pulling rate, the concentration and the annealing on the microstructure of the yttria doped Al2O3/ZrO2 eutectic fibers grown by the laser heated pedestal growth method. The fibers microstructure has been characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The microstructural pattern was irregular Chinese-script for two concentrations of Y2O3 with a cellular arrangement for the higher concentration. We note formation of the host at the borders of the quasi-hexagonal structure with a cellular diameter depending on the pulling rate. The size of the cells decreased when the pulling rate increased. The annealing improved significantly the arrangements of the cells in a homogeneous manner.