Patent ID: 7695580

Claim:
A method of joining at least two sintered bodies to form a composite structure, said method comprising: (a) providing a first sintered body comprising a first metallic oxide; (b) providing a second sintered body comprising a second metallic oxide; (c) providing a joint material between joining surfaces of the first sintered body and the second sintered body, wherein the joint material comprises at least one organic component and ceramic particles, wherein the at least one organic component comprises a polymeric component such that the joint material does not conform prior to heating and wherein the ceramic particles: (i) constitute at least 40 vol. % and not more than 75 vol. % of the joint material; (ii) comprise at least one element contained in at least one of the first sintered body and the second sintered body; and (iii) have a surface area ranging from 2 to 10 m 2 /g; (d) applying a pressure to the joining surfaces of at least 1 kPa and less than 5 MPa to provide an assembly of the first sintered body, the second sintered body and the joint material; (e) heating the assembly to a conforming temperature sufficient to allow the joint material to conform to the joining surfaces; and (f) further heating the assembly to a joining temperature below a minimum sintering temperature of the first and second sintered bodies, whereby the at least two sintered bodies are joined by the joint material to form the composite structure, wherein the ceramic particles do not form a liquid phase during the method.