The kinetics of grain growth in near-micrometre grain size copper produced by spark plasma sintering

Abstract

Samples of copper with a grain size in the near-micrometre regime and in a nearly fully recrystallized condition have been prepared by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The thermal stability of these samples in the temperature range from 950 to 1050 °C has been investigated by an analysis of the kinetics of grain growth, based on microstructural measurements using electron backscatter diffraction. In the temperature range from 950 to 1000 °C the activation energy for grain growth is approx. 300 kJ mol-1, corresponding to a value one and a half times the activation energy for self-diffusion in pure copper. In the temperature range from 1000 to 1050 °C the activation energy for grain growth is found to decrease, although annealing in this temperature range additionally results in non-uniform grain growth. For preparation of samples with a desired uniform grain size at present the best method appears to be via control of the temperature during the SPS process.