Silicon nitride - silicon carbide composite was developed by using an abrasive SiC powders as a raw material. The composites were prepared by mixing abrasive SiC powder with silicon, pressing and sintering at under nitrogen atmosphere in atmosphere controlled vacuum furnace. The proportion of silicon in the initial mixtures varied from 20 to 50 wt%. After sintering, crystalline phases and microstructure were characterized. All composites consisted of and as the bonding phases in SiC matrix. Their physical and mechanical properties were also determined. It was found that the density of the obtained composites increased with an increase in the content formed in the reaction.

This work will report a highly textured β-Si3N4 ceramic by aqueous slip casting in a magnetic field and subsequent pressureless sintering, Effects of the sintering aids, polymer dispersant, pH and stirring time on the stability of the Si3N4 slurries were studied. The textured β-Si3N4 with 97 % relative density could be obtained by slip casting in a magnetic field of 12 T and subsequent sintering at 1800 oC for 1 h. The textured microstructure is featured by the alignment of c-axis of β-Si3N4 crystals perpendicular to the magnetic field, and the Lotgering orientation factor, f, is determined to be 0.8.

The suitable tools for CGI material has not been developed yet because of high hardness, high toughness and very low machininability compared to the grey cast iron. And the tool life has been decreased as the contents of Ti in CGI material. From this research, we were able to do the high speed machining by using high toughness silicon nitride ceramic tools. The silicon nitride ceramic tool grade was specially designed and prepared with microstructure of elongated grains with higher aspect ratio (c/a) than conventional one.

In order to clarify the wear resistance as cutting tools, the effect of oxygen addition on oxidation behavior of the β-Si3N4 ceramics with 5 mass% Y2O3 and 2 or 4 mass% Al2O3 was investigated by performing oxidation tests in air at 1300° to 1400°C and cutting performance tests. From test results, we could conclude that the mechanical properties of β-Si3N4 ceramics depending on oxygen introduction are much effective on cutting performance improvements of β-Si3N4 ceramics.

The nanostructure control of ceramics can be achieved by using fine starting powder and retardation of grain growth. The spark plasma sintering technique is useful to retard the grain growth by rapid heating. In the present work, the change of microstructure was investigated with emphasis on the particle size of starting powder, the amount of sintering additive and the heating schedule. The rapid heating by spark plasma sintering gave the fine microstructure consisting of equiaxed grains with the same size as starting particles. The spark plasma sintering of fine powder was effective to control the microstrucutre on nano-meter level.

The sintering behavior of titanium-titanium nitride nanocomposite powders has been studied by dilatometry. Titanium. titanium nitride nanocomposite powders were produced by the reactive milling of micron sized titanium powder in nitrogen atmosphere. The Ti-TiN nanocomposite powders milled for various durations along with the initial micron sized Ti powders were then sintered in the temperature range of by a constant rate of heating . The linear shrinkage, shrinkage rate, activation energy for sintering and microstructure has been studied and discussed as a function of milling time.

Zirconium nitride powders were synthesized at a relatively lower temperature using methane as a reducing agent in the nitridation of zircoia. ZrO2 powder was prepared by a sol-gel technique. The resulting sol-gel was centrifuged, and the gel was washed with deionized water. Anhydrous ammonia was used as the nitrogen source and methane was used as the reducing agent. Conversion diagrams show the equilibrium solid phase as a function of reagent concentrations for a specific temperature and gas pressure for the reagent system NH3-ZrO2-CH4. The reagent concentration ranges within which pure ZrN is formed increase with increasing reaction temperature. Low pressure with an excess of hydrogen decreases the reaction temperature at which pure ZrN is formed. Low pressure together with the introduction of excess hydrogen into the reaction system increases Zr and N conversion efficiency and retards C deposition.

The microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocomposites synthesized by chemical processing were investigated. The nanocomposites containing 15 vol% hexagonal BN (h-BN) were fabricated by hot-pressing powders covered with turbostratic BN (t-BN). The t-BN coating on particles was prepared by heating particles covered with a mixture of boric acid and urea in hydrogen gas. TEM observations of this nanocomposite revealed that nano-sized h-BN particles were homogeneously dispersed within grains as well as at grain boundaries. The strength and thermal shock resistance were significantly improved in comparison with the microcomposites.

TiN barrier 막 위에 metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)법으로 Cu막을 증착함에 있어 TiN막 표면을 먼저 세정처리하지 않고 바로 Cu막을 증착하려하면 Cu의 핵생성이 어렵고, 그 결과 연속된 Cu막이 형성되지 못한다. 본 연구에서는 SEM, AES, AFM 등의 분석방법을 사용하여 TiN 막 표면에 대한 플라즈마 전처리 세정이 Cu막의 핵생성에 미치는 효과에 관하여 조사하였다. Gu의 전처리 세정방법으로는 direct플라즈마 방식이 원거리 플라즈마 방식보다 훨씬 더 효과적이다. 또한 수소플라즈마 전처리 시 rf-power와 플라즈마 조사시간이 증가함에 따라 세정효과는 더 증대된다. 플라즈마 전처리가 Cu의 핵생성을 고양시키는 원리는 다음과 같다. 플라즈마 내의 수소이온이 TiN과 반응하여 NH3가 됨으로서 질소 성분이 제거되어 TiN이 Ti로 환원된다. Cu는 TiN기판보다는 Ti기판상에서 핵생성이 더 잘 되므로 플라즈마 전처리는 Cu의 핵생성을 돕는 효과를 가져온다.

표면 탄성과 디바이스의 전극재료로 사용되는 Al-%Cu(4000Å)/tungsten nitride 박막을 magnetron sputtering 법으로 제조하고 전기저항을 평가한 비정질상의 tungsten nitride 박막을 제조할 수 있었고, 비정질 형성을 위해 질소비(R =N2/(Ar+N2)가 10~40% 정도 필요하다. Tungsten nitride 박막의 잔류응력은 비정질이 형성되면서 급격히 감소되었다. 이러한 비정질 박막위에 Al-1%Cu 합금막이 형성되었다. 다층막은 453K에서 4시간 동안 열처리함으로써 3.6μΩ-cm의 저항을 나타냈는데, 이는 박막내 결정립 성장과 결함의 감소에 기인하였다.

Si3N4에 2wt% Al2O3와 6wt% Y2O3을 첨가한 분말을 가스압 소결 방법으로 시편을 제조하였다. 이때 소결시 시간변화에 따른 공기 중에서 마모 특성을 비교하였다. 소결 시간에 따른 마모 특성의 변화는 기계적 성질, 즉, 파괴인성 등이 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다. 소결 시간이 길어지면 큰 elongated 입자의 과잉성장에 따라 곡강도 및 파괴인성이 낮아져 이 결과 마모가 증가되었다. 이때 나타난 결과에 의하면 공기 중에서 질화규소의 마모특성에 영향을 주는 인자는 여러 가지 기계적 특성 중에서 파괴인성 및 곡강도가 미치는 영향이 크게 나타났다.

내열금속인 W, Ti와 이들의 질화물인 W2N, TiN 박막을 이용하여 탄화규소 ohmic 접촉을 연구하였다. 열처리 온도에 따른 고온 안정성과 전기적 특성 및 상호 확산 억제 특성을 고찰함으로써 이들 질화물의 고온에서 안정한 ohmic 접촉으로 이용가능성을 조사하였다. 새로운 유기화합물 원료인 bis-trimethylsilylmethane을 이용하여 화학기상 증착법으로 증착한 단결정 β-SiC 박막과 W이 가장 낮은 접촉 비저항, 2.17×10(sup)-5Ωcm2를 보였으며, Ti 계열은 상대적으로 높은 접촉 비저항 값을 나타내었다. 이들 전극 위에 산화 방지막으로 Pt 박막을 증착함으로써 전극의 산화를 막을 수 있었으며, 질화물 전극은 고온에서 금속접촉에 비해 안정한 전기적 특성을 나타내었고, 상호 확산 방지 특성 면에도 우수한 특성을 지니고 있음을 알 수 있었다.