SILICON-NITRIDE - FROM POWDER SYNTHESIS TO CERAMIC MATERIALS

Silicon nitride is a ceramic material of great interest to advanced engine construction and mechanical engineering owing to an outstanding combination of favorable properties like high mechanical strength at high temperatures, corrosion and wear resistance, great hardness, and low density. The material is based on high-quality Si3N4 powders, which are shaped and sintered to the ceramic component. This overview outlines the properties required for Si3N4 powders suitable for advanced ceramics. Processes in commercial use and those under development for the production of high quality Si3N4 powders are discussed as well as material manufacturing processes and material properties. By steadily improving powder quality, material properties, and the economy of powder and component production, chemistry and chemical technology play a major role in recent efforts to create a solid fundament for broad applications of silicon nitride ceramics.