Abstract
Nanocrystalline bulk materials are desirable for many applications as they combinemechanical strength and specific electronic transport properties. Our bottom-up approachstarts with tailored nanoparticles. Compaction and thermal treatment are crucial, butusually the final stage sintering is accompanied by rapid grain growth which spoilsnanocrystallinity. For electrically conducting nanoparticles, field activated sinteringtechniques overcome this problem. Small grain sizes have been maintained in spite ofconsolidation. Nevertheless, the underlying principles, which are of high practicalimportance, have not been fully elucidated yet.In this combined experimental and theoretical work, we show how the developingmicrostructure during sintering correlates with the percolation paths of the current throughthe powder using highly doped silicon nanoparticles as a model system. It is possible toachieve a nanocrystalline bulk material and a homogeneous microstructure. Forthis, not only the generation of current paths due to compaction, but also thedisintegration due to Joule heating is required. The observed density fluctuations on themicrometer scale are attributed to the heat profile of the simulated powder networks.
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