Yttria-stabilized zirconia is known to not be completely stabilized in the pure cubic YSZ phase up to temperatures above 1000 °C (Ref. and publications therein), commonly used abbreviations in conjunction with yttria-stabilized zirconia are: The thermal expansion coefficients depends on the modification of zirconia as follows: By the addition of yttria to pure zirconia (e.g., fully stabilized YSZ) Y ions replace Zr on the cationic sublattice. Thereby, oxygen vacancies are generated due to charge neutrality: formula_4 with formula_5, meaning two Y ions generate one vacancy on the anionic sublattice. This facilitates moderate conductivity of yttrium stabilized zirconia for O ions (and thus
Cubic zirconia Chudoba discovered naturally occurring cubic zirconia in the form of microscopic grains included in metamict zircon. This was thought to be a byproduct of the metamictization process, but the two scientists did not think the mineral important enough to give it a formal name. The discovery was confirmed through X-ray diffraction, proving the existence of a natural counterpart to the synthetic product. As with the majority of grown diamond substitutes, the idea of producing single-crystal cubic zirconia arose in the minds of scientists seeking a new and versatile material for use in lasers and other optical applications. Its production eventually