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US 7,029,613 B2Granted
Method of forming silicon carbide and silicon nitride composite
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsJulin Wan, Matthew J. Gasch, Amiya K. Mukherjee
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Abstract
Densified composites of silicon nitride and silicon carbide that exhibit high creep resistance are obtained by mechanically activating a mixture of amorphous powders of silicon nitride and silicon carbide and sintering the mechanically activated mixture in the presence of an electric field under high pressure. The grain size in the resulting composite is less than 100 nanometers for all components of the composite, and the composite exhibits high creep resistance.
Claims13
A method for forming a dense composite of silicon nitride and silicon carbide, said method comprising:
- (a) mechanically activating a powder mixture of amorphous silicon nitride and silicon carbide in the presence of at most 1% by weight of metal oxide densification aids, said powder mixture consisting essentially of particles of about 1 nanometer to 100 nanometers in diameter;
- and
- (b) consolidating said powder mixture so activated into a continuous mass by compressing said powder mixture while passing an electric current through said powder mixture, to achieve a fused mass of silicon nitride and silicon carbide crystals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.