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Surface Oxidation Kinetics of an a-Si3 N4 and an Amorphous Si3 N4 Powder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

Pu Sen Wang
Affiliation:
Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899
S. G. Malghan
Affiliation:
Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899
S. M. Hsu
Affiliation:
Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899
T. N. Wittberg
Affiliation:
University of DaytonResearch Institute Dayton, OH 45469
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Abstract

Surface oxidation kinetics of an a-Si3 N4 submicron size and an amorphous nano-size powder have been studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Bremsstrahlung-excited Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The samples were oxidized by heating in air at temperatures between 850°C and 1000°C. The oxide thickness for each heating time and temperature was determined both from the relative 0 Is and N Is XPS peak intensities and from the Si02 and Si3 N4 Si KLL peak intensities. In each case, there was a good agreement between the oxide thickness value calculated from the XPS data and that obtained from the AES data. At these temperatures, oxidation followed a linear rate law. Activation energies of 15±1 kcal/mole and 27±1 kcal/mole were measured for the a-powder and the amorphous powder, respectively.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1992

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References

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