Wetting of ceramics by molten silicon and silicon alloys: a review

The surface of silicon is very sensitive to interactions with oxygen present as impurity in furnace atmosphere. It is shown that three types of Si surfaces can be obtained depending on the oxygen’s partial pressure in the furnace and on temperature: oxidized, oxide-free but containing adsorbed oxygen and adsorption free. The influence of oxygen on the surface tension of molten Si is also discussed. Wetting by Si and Si alloys is then described and analysed for three types of ceramics: (i) ionocovalent oxides (Al2O3, SiO2, MgO, etc.), with a particular emphasis on the Si/silica couple, (ii) the different types of carbons where wetting is assisted by the reaction between Si and carbon, and (iii) the predominantly covalent ceramics (SiC, Si3N4, AlN, BN, etc). The role of wetting in the processing of silicon or silicon-based multimaterials is also illustrated.