Silicon carbide is commonly known as carborundum and gemstone as diamond. It is a ceramic compound formed by bonding silicon and carbon. In nature, silicon carbide exists in the form of rare mineral such as morsonite.
Silicon carbide powder has been widely used as abrasive since 1893. SiC powder can be sintered to obtain hard ceramic SiC particles, which can be used in materials requiring high durability such as automobile brake pads, clutches and bullet proof vests, and also in electronic device manufacturing such as light-emitting diodes and early radio detectors.
Nowadays, silicon carbide is widely used to manufacture high temperature and high pressure semiconductors. Large silicon carbide single crystals can be grown by Lely method. The gem of artificial morsonite is obtained by cutting large silicon carbide single crystals prepared by Lely method.
Carborundum, another form of silicon carbide, is sold as a kind of gem with hardness close to diamond, but its transparency is higher, which adds color to the increasingly diversified world of ceramic materials.
On 2018-08-08 11:45:46
