Fabrication of Si3N4/SiC nanocomposites by spark plasma sintering of amorphous SiCN powders derived from a polymeric precursor

Si3N4/SiC nanocomposites were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of amorphous SiCN ceramic powders derived from a polymeric precursor with 3 wt% yttria as an additive. It was found that the SPS parameters, such as sintering temperature, dwell time, pressure and heating rate, remarkably affected the density and grain size of the nanocomposites obtained. This provided a new method to fabricate Si3N4/SiC nanocomposites without applying the high pressure and high sintering temperature used by the conventional process.