Temperature Measurement by Microwave Radiometry: Application to Microwave Sintering

Temperature is a key parameter in industrial manufacturing, and its control is very often directly related to the quality of the products. Microwave-assisted processing has gained worldwide acceptance in powder technologies, in particular for the sintering of ceramic parts. High-energy efficiency, fast heating rate, and new and improved properties of the materials are typically observed. For example, fully dense bodies could be produced with improved mechanical properties due to the finer grain size. In fast-processing conditions, the system is mostly out of thermal equilibrium. A complex temperature-distribution pattern develops inside the heated parts, which can lead to localized melting or detrimental distortions if it is not under control. Today, none of the available thermometric methods (thermocouples, optical fiber, infrared, etc.) gives access to this volumetric information. We propose the use of microwave radiometry to noninvasively measure and control the temperature during the microwave sintering processes.