Apparatus and methods for sintering

A furnace for sintering a workpiece, the furnace comprising:

• a) at least one inductor coil;
• b) at least one hollow cylindrical susceptor enclosing a process tube and an infrared heating zone containing a reducing atmosphere, the susceptor comprising a material capable of absorbing electromagnetic energy from the coil to generate radiant infrared heat and to shield the heating zone from incident RF heat;
• c) at least one insulating layer surrounding the susceptor;
• and
• d) a supply of power for said coil;
• wherein the process tube in the furnace is horizontally configured to maintain a flow of the reducing atmosphere to aid in sintering and remove volatiles from the furnace;
• the inductor coils are energized sufficiently to progressively raise the temperature of the susceptor to heat the heating zone by radiant infrared heat to an effective temperature of 800 to 1500° C. and the sintering temperature within the heating zone comprises a uniform heat distribution.