Method and apparatus for sintering flat ceramics

1. A method of sintering a ceramic to produce a sintered ceramic plate, comprising:

heating a ceramic precursor material between a first mesh and a second mesh;

wherein at least a first portion of a first side of the ceramic precursor material contacts the first mesh and at least a second portion of a second side of the ceramic precursor material contacts the second mesh during heating, thereby producing a sintered ceramic plate;

wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered ceramic compact comprising ceramic particles; and

wherein the sintered ceramic plate is a translucent phosphor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh are composed of heat conductive material.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the heat conductive material has a degradation temperature greater than the sintering temperature of the unsintered ceramic compact.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the degradation temperature is at least 200° C. greater than the sintering temperature.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heat conductive material is selected from stainless steel, iron alloys, copper alloys, niobium, molybdenum, nickel alloys, platinum, tantalum, titanium and tungsten.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material slidably contacts the first mesh and the second mesh.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the ceramic precursor material slidably contacts the first mesh and the second mesh at a plurality of substantially periodic contact points.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the ceramic precursor material slidably contacts the first mesh and the second mesh at a plurality of substantially uniformly distributed contact points.

9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising applying sufficient pressure to the precursor material to reduce camber of the sintered ceramic plate but allow sliding engagement of the ceramic precursor material with the first mesh and the second mesh.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the applying sufficient pressure comprises placing a metal plate of about 0.1 gm/cm 2 to about 20 gm/cm 2 on the first mesh.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is a product of a slurry of solvent, binder and ceramic particles that have been heated at a sufficiently high temperature to evaporate or burn substantially all of the binder and solvent.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered green sheet comprising ceramic particles.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein camber of the sintered ceramic plate is less than 50 μm/mm 2 vertical displacement.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh have a mesh size of more than about 7 wires per inch and a wire diameter of less than 400 μm.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh comprise plural interwoven wires, wherein the plural interwoven wires provide a plurality of substantially uniformly distributed contact points in a plane.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered ceramic compact comprising an oxide material.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the oxide material comprises a metallic element.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the oxide material comprises silicon.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered ceramic compact comprising a garnet material.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the garnet material comprises yttrium.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered ceramic compact comprising a nitride material.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered ceramic compact comprising an oxynitride material.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the oxynitride material comprises a metallic element.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein the oxynitride material comprises silicon.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh comprise wires intersecting at an angle of 90°.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh comprise wires intersecting at an angle of about 10°, about 15°, about 30°, about 45°, about 60°, or about 80°.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh have a mesh size that is about 5 wires per inch to about 500 wires per inch.

28. The method of claim 27 , wherein the mesh size is about 7 wires per inch to about 200 wires per inch.

29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the mesh size is about 10 wires per inch to about 200 wires per inch.

30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the mesh size is about 10 wires per inch to about 100 wires per inch.

31. The method of claim 30 , wherein the mesh size is about 10 wires per inch, about 30 wires per inch, about 40 wires per inch, about 50 wires per inch, or about 60 wires per inch.

32. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh have a mesh size that is the same in both dimensions.

33. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh have a mesh size that is not the same in both dimensions.