Effect of low content sintering aids addition on β-SiC sintered by spark plasma sintering

The influence of low content of sintering aids addition on the properties of β-SiC sintered by spark plasma sintering was studied based on X-ray diffraction and SEM observations. Three dopants, respectively Al2O3, Al2O3-Y2O3 and Al2O3-AlN were chosen, and the investigation was undertaken in the [0.5–5 wt%] content range. The analyses revealed the possibility to increase the density of sintered pellets close to 100% of theoretical density (T.D.), even with the addition of very low sintering aids contents, as low as 0.5 wt%, for each dopant. The combination with high sintering pressure allowed keeping a fine microstructure and a pristine cubic crystalline structure while avoiding the formation of secondary phases.