Silicon carbide based composite material and manufacturing method thereof

A method of manufacturing a silicon carbide based composite material containing a metal mainly consisting of aluminum or copper and particles mainly consisting of silicon carbide, comprising the steps of:

• preparing a raw material including metal mainly consisting of aluminum or copper and a powder mainly consisting of silicon carbide, including a preliminary step of subjecting said powder to a preliminary heat treatment in which said powder is heated in an inert gas atmosphere at a pretreatment temperature in a range from 1600° C. to 2400° C., wherein said powder has an oxygen content of at most 1 wt %, a content of a component containing iron, in iron element equivalent, of at most 0.01 wt %, and a content of a component containing aluminum, in aluminum element equivalent, of at most 0.01 wt %;
• and
• using said raw material, obtaining a silicon carbide based composite material containing 10 to 80 wt % of silicon carbide by one process selected from the group consisting of an infiltration process, a sintering process, a hot pressing process, and a casting process.