The possibility of macroscopic mass transfer in an ionic crystal placed in a high-frequency electric field has been studied theoretically. The plastic deformation of the crystal is shown to take place due to the vacancy-drift perturbations caused by space-charge formation in the near-surface layer and by surface permeability asymmetry with respect to the direction of the motion of atoms through it. The estimates prove that the effects considered can be essential in technological processes, e.g., in microwave sintering of ceramics.

• Received 17 May 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.49.64