CONTINUOUS YTTRIA-STABILIZED ZIRCONIA FIBERS

The availability of continuous ceramic fibers has had a major impact o n the development of new high performance materials. Ceramic fibers ca n be used in metal matrix as well as in ceramic matrix composites, as high temperature insulation materials or as components in microstructu ral applications. Although many research activities have recently been focused on non-oxide fibers of the Si-C-N-O type([1-4]) or the Si-Ti- C-O type([2-5]) and on single-crystal oxide fibers([3]) for temperatur es above 1400 degrees C, the potential of polycrystalline oxide fibers has not yet been sufficiently examined. There is a demand for differe nt types of fibers in order to check their properties for the applicat ions mentioned above. Currently there are only a few continuous polycr ystalline oxide fibers on the market, and these are all based on Al2O3 .([2-4])