Effect of millimeter-wave irradiation on cation interdiffusion in the calcium titanate/strontium titanate ceramic couple

Interdiffusion between the perovskite CaTiO3 and SrTiO3 diffusion couple was investigated in an annealing method using 24-GHz MMW irradiation as the heating source. Interdiffusion was enhanced by MMW irradiation, and the apparent activation energy for interdiffusion decreased 54%, compared with conventional furnace heating. The intrinsic diffusions for both Ca2+ and Sr2+ were also enhanced, although their relative degrees of enhancement differed, partly as a result of differences in MMW absorptivity between the two ceramics. The observed isothermal diffusion enhancement could be ascribed to a nonthermal effect, apart from the differential degree of enhancement between the transport species.