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

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.