The melting parameters of high-temperature nonmetallic nitrides

Abstract

The ranges of temperatures and pressures for the existence of condensed boron, aluminum, and silicon nonmetallic nitrides in thermodynamic equilibrium with an ambient gas were calculated on the basis of reference data. The melting parameters of the high-temperature nitrides mentioned above were investigated experimentally in the nitrogen pressure range of 5–200 MPa. The 99% purity nitride samples were prepared in the form of 4 x 4-mm plates with a thickness of 1 mm. The surfaces of samples were heated with stationary laser beam and analyzed by X-ray technique. The brightness temperature of nonmetallic nitrides was measured at 0.633-µm wavelength using the optical pyrometry method. The apparent melting temperatures were found from the analysis of heating and cooling thermograms. Based on the available literature data on normal spectral emmissivity, the true melting temperatures of nonmetallic nitrides were estimated as 3370 K for BN, 3025 K for AIN, and 2775 K for Si₃N₄.