Preparation and dielectric properties of porous silicon nitride ceramics

Porous silicon nitride ceramics with difference volume fractions of porosity from 34.1% to 59.2% were produced by adding different amount of the pore-forming agent into initial silicon nitride powder. The microwave dielectric property of these ceramics at a frequency of 9.36 GHz was studied. The crystalline phases of the samples were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The influence of porosity on the dielectric properties was evaluated. The results show that α-Si₃N₄ crystalline phase exists in all the samples while the main crystalline phase of the samples is β-Si₃N₄, indicating that the α/β transformation happens during the preparation of samples and the transformation is incomplete. There is a dense matrix containing large pores and cavities with needle-shaped and flaky β-Si₃N₄ grains distributing. The dielectric constant of the ceramics reduces with the increase of porosity.