Light scattering by residual pores in transparent zirconia ceramics

Abstract

We studied the effects of residual pores on the transparency of cubiczirconia ceramics by applying Mie scattering theory. The optical haze value H,defined as the diffuse transmission divided by the totalforward transmission, was calculated as a function of the pore size (rpore) and the porosity of residual pores (Vpore)with samplethickness (t) = 1 mm. Even a small amount of pores criticallyaffect the transparency; Vpore < 5 ppm is required to maintain H value withinl %, when rpore = 0.05 (im is assumed. The theoretical study also revealed that the acceptable amount of residual pores for H = 1 % gradually degreases with an increase in the refractive index of the materials. ©2011 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved .