Sintering of ultrafine SiC powders prepared by plasma CVD

Ultrafine SiC powders with a nanometre particle size were synthesized by r.f. plasma chemical vapour deposition (CVD) using a chemical system of SiH₄−C₂H₄−Ar. The powder was also ultrapure with a grade of 99.999% purity. The product was polytype 3C−SiC and black in colour, in spite of its high purity, because of its ultrafine size. Silicon carbide is a difficult ceramic to sinter; it is possible to sinter it to full density with the aid of sintering additives. Ultrafine and ultrapure SiC powders were hot-pressed without sintering additives in the present study, in order to investigate the sintering behaviour. The CVD powders proved sinterable to 88% theoretical density without sintering additives. The present experiments revealed that powder treatment before firing was a key technology when using ultrafine powders as starting materials in the sintering process. The sintering behaviour of the powder was characterized by a large shrinkage. Phase transformation was negligible after hot pressing at 2200°C for 30 min.