Sintered reaction-bonded silicon nitrides with high thermal conductivity: The effect of the starting Si powder and Si3N4 diluents

Silicon nitride ceramics with high thermal conductivity were fabricated by employing the reaction bonding method. It was revealed that the addition of Si3N4 diluents affected both the nitriding reaction and the post-sintering behavior by changing the size of the silicon particle during the milling process. The reduced size of silicon particle led to an increased degree of nitridation. Further, narrower pore channels in the nitrided bodies caused by the reduced size of silicon particle enhanced the final density, by promoting the easier elimination of finer pores during post-sintering. The positive effect of the finer silicon particle was confirmed by a back-up experiment employing a variety of silicon particle sizes, produced by milling the raw silicon powder for different milling times. Thermal conductivity was dominated by material density rather than variation of the microstructure or oxygen content in the current research.