Effects of reaction temperature on the synthesis of high purity silicon carbide powder

High purity silicon carbide powder for growing semi-insulating silicon carbide single crystal was synthesised using high purity carbon and silicon powder. The effects of reaction temperature on the phase composition, particle size and the production yield were discussed. The results showed that with increasing the reaction temperature, the phase transition from β-silicon carbide to α-silicon carbide was found. Moreover, the particle size and the production yield were first increased with raising the reaction temperature and then decreased when the temperature was higher. The results of glow discharge mass spectroscopy indicated that the synthesised silicon carbide powder can meet the requirements for semi-insulating silicon carbide single crystal growth. Finally, the semi-insulating 4H-SiC single crystals were grown using silicon carbide powder which was synthesised in our laboratory.