Preparation and evaluation of porous Si₃N₄ ceramic substrates that repel Si melt

抄録

The porous ceramic substrate mainly consists of Si₃N₄ that repels Si melt was prepared. Porous structure with pores in micron-order was prepared by thermal decomposition of polymethylmethacrylate spherical micro-particles of 2–10 µm in diameter. The contact angle between Si melt and the porous substrate is a maximum of 160° measured by high temperature in-situ observation. For the application, spherical Si crystals were successfully prepared on the porous substrate and the repetitive preparation of spherical Si on the same substrate confirmed that the porous substrate prevents the infiltration of Si melt and is continuously reusable for crystal growth of Si.