Liquid Phase Sintering Behavior of Amorphous Nano-Sized Silicon Nitride Powders

The amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders were sintered by liquid phase sintering method. Si3N4-Si2N2O composites were in-situ fabricated. The Si2N2O phase was generated by an in-situ reaction 2Si3N4(s)+1.5O2(g)=3Si2N2O(s)+N2(g). The content of Si2N2O phase up to 60% was obtained at a sintering temperature of 1650°C and reduced when the sintering temperature increased or decreased, which indicates that the reaction is reversible. The mass loss, relative density and average grain size increase with increasing of sintering temperature. The average grain size is less than 500nm when the sintering temperature is below 1700°C. During the sintering procedure, there is a complex crystallization and phase transition: amorphous Si3N4 → equiaxial α-Si3N4→ equiaxial β-Si3N4 → rod-likeSi2N2O → needle-like β-Si3N4. Small round-shaped β-Si3N4 particles are entrapped in the Si2N2O grains and a high density of staking faults are situated in the middle of Si2N2O grains at a sintering temperature of 1650°C.