Liquid Phase Sintering of α-Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> by Spark Plasma Sintering

In this study, spark plasma sintering (SPS) was applied to prepare α-Si3N4 ceramics of different densities with magnesia, silicon dioxide, alumina as the sintering aids. The sintering behavior and liquid phase sintering (LPS) mechanism were discussed and the factors influencing the density of the prepared samples were analyzed. Microstructures of sintered samples were observed and the phase compositions were analyzed. The results showed that α-Si3N4 ceramics can be sintered by SPS based on the reaction among α-Si3N4 and sintering additives which lead to the liquid phase and the density can be well controlled from 2.48 to 3.09 g/cm3 while the content of the sintering aids changes from 10% to 28.5% and sintering temperature from 1400°C to 1500°C.