The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 19, 1991
Filed:
Dec. 22, 1989
Michitaka Sato, Tokyo, JP;
Hiroaki Nishio, Tokyo, JP;
NKK Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A method of producing a silicon nitride sintered body which comprises using an amorphous Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 powder having a mean particle size of 5 to 50 nm, a nitrogen content of 30 to 39 wt. %, an oxygen content of 1 to 10 wt. %, the sum of the nitrogen content and the oxygen content being 38 to 42 wt. % and an unavoidable impurities content of less than 500 ppm as the raw material to form a molded body, sealing the molded body in a capsule and treating it with HIP in the range of 1000.degree. to 1800.degree. C. and 1000 to 2000 atm until the density becomes 3.1 to 3.4 g/cm.sup.3. In the method of the invention, active surface energy of silicon nitride powder is utilized as the driving force for sintering due to using a super fine powder. The super fine powder improves sintering ability by uniform mixing. The sintering ability is further improved by substituting a suitable amount of the nitrogen in the silicon nitride with oxygen. By the above means, the sintering strength can be secured under not severe sintering conditions. As a result, a sintering aid can be omitted.