One of the most practical goals of materials processing is fabricating materials for use in devices. The clear majority of ceramics used in industrial applications are free-sintered continuously in tunnel furnaces or in large batch furnaces.

Pressure-assisted techniques such as hot pressing (HP) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) are ubiquitous for applications where very low porosity is essential. Because of excellent temperature, heating/cooling rate, and pressure control, current-activated pressure-assisted densification (CAPAD)^1,2 has emerged as a reliable method for attaining dense materials. Interest from the academic community is widespread, and it is increasingly important in industrial settings.

Sintering efficiency, as measured by significantly lower temperatures and processing times, is often cited as CAPAD’s primary advantage. However, efficiency by itself is not enough to truly compete with continuous or large batch processes for traditional ceramics. The true promise is the ability to reliably and reproducibly fabricate materials with unique nano/microstructures and metastable phase content, i.e., for making materials that are difficult to make by more conventional techniques.