We report a numerical study of the field assisted sintering of silicon germanium alloys by a finite element method, which takes into account contact resistances, thermal expansion and the thermoelectric effect. The distribution of electrical and thermal fields was analyzed numerically, based on the experimental data collected from spark plasma sintering (SPS) apparatus. The thermoelectric properties of Si-Ge used within the simulation were considered as the function of density and the sintering temperature. Quantitative estimation of the temperature distribution during the sintering pointed to a significant, up to 60 °C, temperature difference within the specimen volume for the case of the sintering temperature at 1150 °C.

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The densification of Ge-Si within spark plasma sintering has been simulated. The simulation was based on finite elements method and implemented in Comsol Multiphysics. The model of mechanical processes was based on the simulation results published earlier for metal and ceramic powder materials. The model included plastic and elastic deformation description, impact of porosity on electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. The pressure field in the sample has been calculated. The change of sample diameter due to the expansion and compression has been obtained for the soaking period.

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