Silicon carbide ceramics manufactured by digital light processing and low temperature sintering

The rapid development of additive manufacturing techniques enables the preparation of SiC ceramics with complex configurations; however, the high sintering temperature and defects-control are still great challenges during processing. Thus, SiC ceramics were prepared by digital light processing followed by liquid phase sintering using Al2O3-Y2O3 additives in this study. The photopolymerization of the SiC slurry, microstructures and mechanical properties of the sintered ceramics were investigated. The Al2O3-Y2O3 additives enhanced the curing ability of the photosensitive SiC slurries by reducing the absorbance and scattering of UV light. The liquid phase accelerated the densification of the ceramics by particles rearrangement and interfacial bonding. Thus, the flexural strength of the ceramics increased from 41.0 MPa to 62.8 MPa with sintering temperature increasing.