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 the ceramic precursor material contacts the first mesh and at least a second portion of the ceramic precursor material contacts the second mesh during heating,

thereby producing a sintered ceramic plate;

wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh comprise a heat conductive material;

wherein the ceramic is a translucent phosphor;

wherein the number of contact points between the first mesh and the ceramic precursor is greater than about 500 per square inch; and

wherein the number of contact points between the second mesh and the ceramic precurser is greater than about 500 per square inch.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heat conductive material, the heat conductive material comprises stainless steel, iron, iron alloys, copper, copper alloys, niobium, niobium alloys, molybdenum, molybdenum alloys, nickel, nickel alloys, platinum, platinum alloys, tantalum, tantalum alloys, titanium, titanium alloys, tungsten, tungsten alloys, rhenium, rhenium alloys, or any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the heat conductive material comprises a tungsten:molybdenum alloy.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the tungsten:molybdenum alloy is about 3% molybdenum.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material slidably contacts the first mesh and/or the second mesh at a plurality of substantially periodic and/or substantially uniformly distributed contact points or lines.

6. The method of claim 5 , 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, 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.

7. 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.

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

9. 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 30wires per inch to about 100 wires per inch, and a wire diameter of less than 400 μm.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein either or both of the first mesh and the second mesh is configured as a plain weave or as a twill weave.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic precursor material is in the form of an unsintered ceramic compact comprising an oxide material, a garnet material, a nitride material, and/or an oxynitride material.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the oxide material comprises a metallic element or silicon.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the garnet material comprises yttrium.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the oxynitride material comprises a metallic element or silicon.

15. 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° , about 80° , or about 90° .

16. 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, and the mesh size is about 40 ×40 wires per inch, about 50 ×50 wires per inch, about 60 ×60 wires per inch, about 70 ×70 wires per inch, or about 80 ×80 wires per inch.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sintered ceramic plate comprises an optionally doped yttrium aluminum garnet and/or an optionally doped lutetium aluminum garnet.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the yttrium aluminum garnet is a gadolinium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the number of contact points between the first mesh and the ceramic precurser is less than about 6400; and

wherein the number of contact points between the second mesh and the ceramic precurser is less than about 6400.