Aerodynamic Levitation Studies of Ceramics at Very High-Temperature: XAFS and XRD

A levitation device associated with laser heating has been developed in order to measure the structure of ceramics at very high temperature by using synchrotron radiation sources. Combined X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption measurements have been performed on spherical solid and liquid samples in a controlled atmosphere up to 2800°C. The analysis chamber was integrated with the 7-circles goniometer of the D2AM station at the ESRF. This technique presents a novel opportunity to probe the short-range and long-range properties of high-temperature oxides up to the liquid phase. By studying the local structure around cations in oxides, we have shown that the combined XAFS and XRD data, deriving from in-situ synchrotron radiation experiments, contain valuable information on phase transitions, contributing to the optimisation of the fabrication of ceramics.