On the Onset of the Flash Transition in Single Crystals of Cubic Zirconia

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the onset of the flash transition in cubic zirconia single crystals, linking activation energy to ionic conductivity and discussing reduction effects under different conditions.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the flash transition onset temperatures and correlates activation energy with ionic conductivity in cubic zirconia.

Findings

Activation energy of 0.99 eV for charge transport.

Good agreement between activation energy and ionic conductivity data.

Electrical reduction influences electrical/thermal runaway under certain conditions.

Abstract

The reported onset temperatures of the flash transition in cubic zirconia single crystals have been analyzed in the present note. The analysis for high-temperature low-field data gives an activation energy of 0.99 eV for the charge transport, which agrees well with the measured ionic conductivity data in cubic zirconia single crystal. Electrical reduction is believed to play an additional role under low-temperature high-field conditions, facilitating electrical/thermal runaway under more modest conditions.