Magnetic anisotropy of c-axis oriented bulk hematite

Appl. Phys. Express, 2, 101601-1 - 101601-3(2009)

Orientation-controlled anatase films and their application to DSSC.

J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 92, 984 (2009)

Texture control in polycrystalline materials is promising because it can improve their properties equivalent to those of single crystals from inexpensive, commercially-available raw powder. Templated grain growth and hot/sinter forging are well-known techniques to fabricate textured polycrystals but these methods require large, single-crystalline seed particles for abnormal grain growth during sintering. Magnetic alignment is another good method to texture the microstructure; however, magnetic anisotropy of diamagnetic or paramagnetic ceramic materials is generally very weak. We have fabricated textured ceramics in a strong magnetic field generated by a superconducting magnet to bring out their best performances