Abstract
Zirconia with various dopants of Y 2 O 3 and CeO 2 was employed in the solid state bonding of an Ni/ceramic assembly. The interfacial microstructure of the bonding assembly was examined by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction and the bonding strength was evaluated with a tensile test under constant pressure. An intermediate layer was observed in the interface of the 3Y 2 O 3 -10CeO 2 -ZrO 2 /Ni bonding assembly which revealed that the solid state bonding of Ni/zirconia required the formation of a thin oxide layer to wet the ceramics. In the Ni/zirconia bonding, the growth of NiO was influenced by the dopants in the zirconia. This would, in turn, result in different bonding strengths between ZrO 2 and nickel. The highest bonding strength occurred in the 12CeO 2 -ZrO 2 /Ni assembly. © 1990 Chapman and Hall Ltd.