Carbothermal synthesis of micron‐sized, uniform, spherical silicon carbide (SiC) particles

Abstract

Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Josef Breu on the occasion of his 60 th birthday.Silicon carbide (SiC) particles are exciting structures because of their hardness, chemical inertness, and dielectric properties. In particular, their absorption/emission properties in the midinfrared range render them suitable structures for ambient temperature thermal emitters. However, the synthesis of uniform, spherical structures is still challenging. Here, we present a robust synthesis procedure based on carbothermal reduction of silica precursor particles. With an isotropic shrinkage of ~30 %, the spherical particle shape and uniformity are retained. Furthermore, we outline the influence of the gas atmosphere during the carbothermal treatment and demonstrate the successful conversion to SiC by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermal and optical analysis.

Review—Silicon Carbide Thin Film Technologies: Recent Advances in Processing, Properties, and Applications: Part II. PVD and Alternative (Non-PVD and Non-CVD) Deposition Techniques

“…SiC Micro-and nano-crystalline structures.-T. Feller et al 11 (2021) described a bottom-up carbothermal synthesis process for the growth of micron-sized, uniform, spherical SiC particles. The process is based on direct carbothermal reduction of silica as both Si precursor and C source, resulting in SiC particles typically a few hundred nanometers in size.…”

Silicon Carbide Thin Film Technologies: Recent Advances in Processing, Properties, and Applications - Part I Thermal and Plasma CVD

“…10 Everyday products which utilize SiC x for this purpose include abrasive materials, highefficiency brake discs and pads, drill bits, and fire-retardant films, to name a few. 11 The mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of SiC x have also made it a regular workhorse in integrated circuitry (IC) applications, including microprocessor units (MPUs), systems-ona-chip (SoCs), flash memory, and three-dimensional (3D) device architectures. 12 Applications include diffusion barriers and protective coating for low dielectric constant (κ) materials, as well as capping layers and etch stops in copper-based interconnect schemes.…”