Light scattering by composition inhomogeneity and residual pores in LiAlON solid solution transparent ceramics

Cubic polycrystalline LiAlON solid solution ceramics with differential transparencies were prepared by solid-state reaction sintering and post-HIP. The light transmission properties of the ceramics were studied via in-line transmittance (IT) and real in-line transmittance (RIT) measurements. The main scattering resources were characterized via SEM and EDS analysis. It was suggested that, composition inhomogeneity in the solid solution could contribute to strong light scattering with low RIT even though the IT is very high. LiAlON ceramic with high transparency (RIT up to 85.5%) was mainly benefited from the eliminations of composition inhomogeneity and residual pores.