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Reactive atomized silicon powders as an alternative starting material for reaction bonded silicon nitride

Conference ·
OSTI ID:77978
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States). Materials Science and Engineering
  2. California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, CA (United States). Chemical and Materials Engineering

A novel technique for synthesis of Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} is developed in the present study. Silicon powders are fabricated using reactive atomization. An addition of yttrium and aluminum in the Si melt combining with N{sub 2}-5% O{sub 2} atomization gas is used to introduce sintering aids in situ, such as ZrO{sub 2}, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Equiaxed grain morphology is observed in the as-sprayed silicon powders. Sinterability of reactive atomization processed Si powder is compared with that of the Si powder atomized under inert atmosphere following reaction bonded nitriding. Microstructural characterization of sintered-reaction bonded silicon nitride (SRBSN) is conducted using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The preliminary results have shown that the reactive atomization process is a viable method to produce Si powder containing in-situ sintering aids.

OSTI ID:
77978
Report Number(s):
CONF-950201--; ISBN 0-87339-283-3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English