Sintering of silicon nitride using Be additive

Claim 1

A method of producing a pre-shaped polycrystalline body which consists essentially of providing at least a significantly homogeneous dispersion having an average particle size which is submicron of silicon nitride and a beryllium additive, said beryllium additive being selected from the group consisting of beryllium, beryllium carbide, beryllium fluoride, beryllium nitride, beryllium silicon nitride and mixtures thereof, said beryllium additive being used in an amount wherein the beryllium component is equivalent to from about 0.1% by weight to about 2% by weight of elemental beryllium based on the amount of silicon nitride, shaping said dispersion into a green body and sintering said green body at a temperature ranging from about 1900° C. to about 2200° C. in a sintering atmosphere of nitrogen, said nitrogen being at a superatmospheric pressure which at said sintering temperatures prevents significant thermal decomposition of said silicon nitride and produces a sintered body with a density of at least about 80% of the theoretical density of silicon nitride, the minimum pressure of said nitrogen ranging from about 20 atmospheres at a sintering temperature of 1900° C. to a minimum pressure of about 130 atmospheres at a sintering temperature of 2200° C.

Claim 2

A method of producing a pre-shaped polycrystalline body which consists essentially of providing at least a significantly homogeneous dispersion having an average particle size which is submicron of silicon nitride and a beryllium additive, said beryllium additive being selected from the group consisting of beryllium, beryllium carbide, beryllium fluoride, beryllium nitride, beryllium silicon nitride and mixtures thereof, said beryllium additive being used in an amount wherein the beryllium component is equivalent to from about 0.1% by weight to about 2% by weight of elemental beryllium based on the amount of silicon nitride, shaping said dispersion into a green body and sintering said green body at a temperature ranging from about 1900° C. to about 2200° C. in a sintering atmosphere of nitrogen, said nitrogen being at a superatmospheric pressure which at said sintering temperatures prevents significant thermal decomposition of said silicon nitride and produces a sintered body with a density of at least about 80% of the theoretical density of silicon nitride, the minimum pressure of said nitrogen ranging from about 20 atmospheres at a sintering temperature of 1900° C. to a minimum pressure of about 130 atmospheres at a sintering temperature of 2200° C.