Silicon carbide’s exceptional temperature stability, durability, strength, corrosion resistance and semiconductor properties make it an ideal material for power electronics. Furthermore, doping with phosphorus or gallium could allow doping of an n-type silicon carbide semiconductor base semiconductor device.
SiC is available in various polytypes that differ by the arrangement of silicon and carbon atoms in their lattice structures. Each one exhibits different physical and chemical properties.
Komposisi Kimia
Silicon carbide (SiC) is an inorganic chemical compound composed of silicon and carbon. As one of the hardest known to humans, Silicon Carbide competes with diamond and boron Carbide as one of the hardest substances known. Silicon Carbide finds use in many industrial applications including as an abrasive and structural ceramic; additionally it can also be found used for refractory linings, high temperature bricks, heating elements as well as wear-resistant parts for pumps and rocket engines.
SiC possesses a highly dense atomic structure that results in strong covalent bonds between silicon and carbon atoms, creating strong covalent bonds between each. The atoms are organized into two primary coordination tetrahedra with four silicon and four carbon atoms bound to one another by strong covalent bonds.
Silicon carbide in its pure state acts as an electrical insulator; however, by adding dopants such as boron and aluminum it becomes a semiconductor.
Silicon carbide can be manufactured through reacting different raw materials in a furnace at high temperatures. Once produced, this material must then be processed according to its intended use – for instance crushing, milling or chemical treatment may be needed before being suitable for its intended use.
Silicon carbide abrasive material is one of the most frequently utilized materials in lapidary due to its long lifespan and economical pricing. Furthermore, silicon carbide has long been used in industrial machining processes like grinding, honing and water-jet cutting as an industrial abrasive. Furthermore, silicon carbide’s high strength and abrasion resistance make it useful in many mining and manufacturing environments while its bulletproof qualities make it popular component of bulletproof armor solutions.
Sifat Fisik
Silicon carbide (SiC) is an extremely hard, synthetically produced compound of silicon and carbon that was first mass-produced during the late 19th century and rapidly gained industrial applications since. First used as an abrasive, SiC soon evolved to serve refractory linings in industrial furnaces as well as wear-resistant components in pumps and rocket engines; moreover, due to its superior thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion characteristics it’s an invaluable material choice for electronic components such as semiconductors and light emitting diodes among many more applications than ever before!
Silicon carbide’s wide bandgap enables electrons to travel more rapidly through its material than in silicon, making it ideal for faster electron mobility, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high melting point and strength at elevated temperatures – qualities which make this material desirable in numerous demanding applications.
Aluminum’s characteristics of chemical inertness, high melting point, high temperature resistance and low coefficient of expansion make it well-suited to tool and machinery construction. Aluminum is also the main ingredient used in many abrasive materials as well as being essential to many refractory materials.
Silicon carbide’s combination of strength, thermal conductivity and rigidity make it an excellent material choice for large optical telescopes such as Herschel Space Telescope mirrors. Furthermore, its rigidity and thermal conductivity also make it suitable for spacecraft subsystems requiring high temperatures or radiation levels to withstand.
Chemical Reactions
Silicon carbide is a hard material with remarkable physical and chemical properties. Composed of silicon and carbon atoms arranged in an ordered lattice structure, its exceptional strength and thermal stability contribute to its industrial production by reducing silica with carbon at high temperatures in an electric furnace. Pure silicon carbide typically appears colorless; however, contaminated versions often show up as either blueish-black or brownish powder due to iron impurities or other contaminants contaminating it.
Aluminium is an extremely strong and resilient material used in manufacturing abrasives, grinding wheels, cutting tools, automobile parts, refractory bricks, heating elements and high-temperature ceramics. Due to its resistance to chemical reactions, low thermal expansion rate and ability as a semiconductor element it makes an excellent material choice for power electronics applications.
Silicon Carbide can also withstand prolonged exposure to water without degrading, making it an excellent material choice for components that must remain immersed in liquids such as cooling fluids or air. However, it should be noted that silicon carbide reacts with hydrogen gas at higher temperatures to produce silicon dioxide and methane; this occurs because its tetrahedral structure exposes atoms at higher temperatures to hydrogen molecules which combine with oxygen molecules present in the atmosphere to form water vapor visible on its surface.
Manufacturing
Silicon carbide differs from many other commonly-used materials in that it must be manufactured. One of the hardest substances known to man, cutting silicon carbide requires diamond-tipped blades. Unfortunately, however, manufacturing process of silicon carbide can be complex; thus it must be improved to keep pace with increasing demand.
The Acheson Process is one of the most commonly used methods of production, consisting of mixing silica and coke before heating them to high temperatures and chemically reacting together, producing bright green crystals large enough to be seen, before chilling the mixture to stop this growth and stop crystal growth altogether. Once cooled down, this powder mixture can then be combined with non-oxide sintering aids (binders) for compacting with cold isostatic pressing or extrusion methods.
Silicon carbide stands out from other ceramic materials due to its wide bandgap – which measures the difference in energy required for electrons to jump from an atom’s valence band into its conduction band – enabling it to withstand much higher voltages and frequencies than competing materials.
Silicon carbide is an ideal material for semiconductor electronics requiring resistance heating in harsh environments, including pumps bearings, pump bearings, sandblasting injectors, dies and heating elements. Due to its strength, hardness and durability, silicon carbide also makes an excellent material choice for pump bearings, pump bearings, sandblasting injectors, dies and heating elements – not forgetting doping with aluminium, boron or gallium to produce p-type semiconducting silicon carbide which could reduce active cooling systems that would add weight and complexity when installed in electric vehicles – helping cut weight while adding complexity!