SiC continuous fiber-reinforced Si3N4 by infiltration and reaction bonding

Difficulties encountered in the production of long-fiber reinforced ceramic-matrix composites via hot pressing and CVI can be circumvented through the use of the infiltration/consolidation of the long-fiber preforms with submicron particle slurries and reaction-bonding the resulting matrix, as is presently demonstrated for the case of SiC fibers and Si/Si3N4 particle slurries. High temperature fiber degradation during reaction bonding is avoided through the use of additives that lower the nitridation temperature and shorten process time. Attention is given to the microstructure and mechanical properties thus obtained; nearly complete impregnation is achieved. 12 refs.