Oxidation behavior of a fully dense polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbonitride ceramic

The oxidation behavior of a polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbonitride (SiCN) ceramic was studied at temperature range of 900degrees-1200degreesC using fully dense samples, which were obtained using a novel pressure-assisted pyrolysis technique. The oxidation kinetics was investigated by measuring the thickness of oxide layers. The data were found to fit a typical parabolic kinetics. The measured oxidation rate constant and activation energy of the SiCN are close to those of CVD and single-crystal SiC. The results suggest that the oxidation mechanism of the SiCN is the same as that of SiC: oxygen diffusion through a silica layer.