Microwave dielectric property of porous silicon nitride ceramics

This paper presents the microwave dielectric property of porous silicon nitride ceramics at a frequency of 9360 MHz, which were fabricated by the nitridation of silicon powder. The porous ceramics with different volume fraction of porosity from 18.6% to 56.2% were produced by adding different amount of the pore-forming agent into the initial silicon powder. Microstructural analysis revealed a dense matrix containing large pores and cavities with needle-shaped and flaky beta-S(i)3N(4) grains distributing in it. The results showed that the dielectric constant of the ceramics reduces with the porosity increases. With the addition of alpha-Si3N4 powder in the raw silicon powder, the nitridation rate is raised, and the dielectric constant and the dielectric loss of the ceramics decrease notablely.