Patent ID: 8516857

Claim:
A method of forming an ESD safe ceramic component, comprising: densifying a ceramic body by hot isostatic pressing (HIPing), the ceramic body comprising (i) a base material of a zirconia toughened alumina, the base material comprising a primary component of Al 2 O 3 and a secondary component of ZrO 2 , wherein the ZrO 2 comprises tetragonal ZrO 2 , and (ii) a resistivity modifier to reduce an electrical resistivity of the base material, wherein the resistivity modifier comprises TiO 2 , MnO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , CoO, NiO, Cr 2 O 3 , SnO 2 , LaMnO 3 , BaO 6Fe 2 O 3 , LaCrO 3 , or SrCrO 3 , wherein HIPing is carried out at a temperature not greater than 1350° C. and the base material contains Al 2 O 3 and ZrO 2 in an Al 2 O 3 :ZrO 2 volume ratio not less than 55:45, wherein the ceramic body has a volume resistivity within a range of about 10 5 to 10 11 ohm-cm.