Introduction to silicon carbide

Silicon carbide (also known as: silica, gold steel sand or refractory sand), chemical simple:  SiC, is the quartz sand, petroleum coke (or coal coke),  wood chips as raw materials through the resistance furnace high temperature smelting of a refractory material. Silicon  carbide is also found in nature in a rare mineral, moissanite. In the contemporary C, N,  B and other non-oxide high-tech refractory raw materials,  silicon carbide is the most widely used and the most economical one. China's industrial production of silicon carbide is  divided into black silicon carbide and green silicon carbide two, are hexagonal crystals,  the specific gravity of 3.20 ~ 3.25, microhardness of 2840 ~ 3320kg/m㎡.

Silicon carbide has black silicon carbide and green silicon carbide two commonly used base of the variety,  both belong to α-SiC. ① Black silicon carbide contains about 95% SiC, its toughness is higher than green silicon carbide, mostly used for processing low tensile strength materials,  such as glass, ceramics, stone, refractory materials,  cast iron and non-ferrous metals. Green silicon carbide contains more than 97% SiC, self-sharpening is good,  mostly used for processing cemented carbide, titanium alloy and optical glass,  but also used for honing cylinder liner and fine grinding high-speed steel tools. In addition,  there is cubic silicon carbide, which is a special process of yellow green crystal,  used to make abrade for bearing superfinishing,  can make the surface roughness from Ra32 ~ 0.16 microns a processing to Ra0.04 ~ 0.02 microns.

Silicon carbide is by the American Acheson in 1891 electromelting diamond experiment,  a carbide accidentally found in the laboratory, was mistaken for a mixture of diamond, so named emery,  in 1893 Acheson research out of the industrial smelting silicon carbide method, that is, we often say Acheson furnace,  has been used so far, with carbon materials as the core of the resistance furnace,  A mixture of silica SIO2 and carbon is electrically heated to produce silicon carbide.

Several events regarding silicon carbide

Silicon carbide was first discovered in meteorites in 1905

1907 The first silicon carbide crystal light emitting diode was born

In 1955, a major breakthrough in theory and technology,  LELY proposed the concept of growing high-quality carbonization,  and from then on SiC was regarded as an important electronic material

In 1958, the first World Silicon Carbide Conference was held in Boston for academic exchange

In the 1960s and 1970s, silicon carbide was mainly studied by the former Soviet Union. In 1978, for the first time,  the grain purification growth method of "LELY improvement technology" was adopted

1987 ~ present with CREE research results to establish silicon carbide production line,  suppliers began to provide commercial silicon carbide base