Use of Thermally Stimulated Depolarization Currents to Study Grain Growth in Ceramic Thorium Dioxide

摘要

Depolarization Current Spectra resulting from the destruction of the thermoelectric state in polycrystalline ThO sub 2 samples have been detected in the temperature range 100K-350K. The induced polarization is found to be due to migration of charge carriers over microscopic distances in the bulk of the specimens with trapping at grain boundaries. Moreover the density of charge carriers released from trapping sites, upon heating the cooled previously dc biased specimen decreases for increasing sintering temperature, suggesting the use of the technique to the study of grain growth in the bulk of ceramic oxides. (Atomindex citation 11:551767)