Silicon Carbide Usage and Applications

Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the hardest materials known. Although some natural sources contain small quantities, most SiC used today is synthetically produced.

Ceramic nonoxides have long been employed in applications that demand both thermally and mechanically demanding performance, including abrasives; in refractories due to their stability and high melting point; and semiconductor electronics.

Abrasive

Silicon carbide’s hardness makes it an excellent abrasive material, and manufacturers often mold angular grain structures into blasting media for use in machinery to power away rust and prepare surfaces for painting or coating applications. Silicon carbide grit can also be pressed into durable sanding belts for long-term use.

Silicon carbide blast nozzles and grinding wheels are also extremely durable, resistant to wear and tear and maintenance costs, lasting longer than other forms of blasting media and helping lower maintenance costs.

Silicon Carbide, with its combination of rigidity, low thermal expansion coefficient and good conductivity is an ideal material for making mirrors and lenses for telescopes. Silicon Carbide has been used in numerous telescopes including Herschel Space Telescope and Gaia Satellite Observatory. Washington Mills produces CARBOREX silicon carbide in various sizes and chemistries to meet various applications including Abrasive Blasting, Coated Abrasives Ceramics Grinding Wheels Refractory and Metallurgical uses.

Refractory

Silicon Carbide can be found in products designed to perform in both thermally and chemically demanding environments, including refractories. Refractories utilize silicon carbide as it has superior insulation properties as well as being resistant to thermal shocks and chemical exposure, making it suitable for high temperatures, thermal shocks, corrosion exposure and other factors when selecting an ideal refractory material for their application. Selecting an optimal refractory requires taking into account factors like environmental conditions, temperature range and other considerations before making a selection decision – selecting an ideal refractory can help make sure your project meets requirements!

Recrystallized silicon carbide refractory bricks are widely utilized by power generation facilities as an inner lining in crucibles and metal casting ladles, helping ensure quality castings by withstanding high heats and thermal cycling within power plant processes.

CUMIFRAC silicon carbide refractory offers excellent thermal shock resistance and chemical resistance. It’s resistant to slag attack and flame erosion, making it a go-to material in industrial settings like power plants, waste incinerators and cement kilns. Moldable into complex shapes at an affordable cost makes CUMIFRAC silicon carbide refractory an attractive choice.

Semiconductor

Silicon carbide, or SiC, is an extremely hard crystalline compound composed of silicon and carbon with the chemical formula SiC. When ground into powder form it can be combined to form hard ceramics used as industrial abrasives, refractory materials, teflon sheets for pumps and rocket engines, car brakes, bulletproof vest ceramic plates or light emitting diodes substrate. Natural silicon carbide exists only rarely as moissanite gemstone; all commercial production based on synthetic versions.

Silicon carbide devices boast a wide band gap that enables them to handle much higher voltages than standard silicon devices, making it an excellent choice for use in high-voltage power switching circuits like IGBTs and MOSFETs. But correctly sizing silicon carbide for an application often requires the expertise of a system integrator.

Electric Vehicles

Silicon carbide semiconductors (also referred to as wide bandgap materials) offer stiffness and thermal performance to facilitate thinner and more compact designs in power electronics for an electric vehicle.

IDTechEx, a market research firm, reports that silicon carbide power devices are becoming more commonplace in electric vehicles (EVs), particularly as the industry transitions from 400-volt battery systems to 800-volt systems. As a result, silicon carbide will likely see greater deployment in onboard chargers and DC-to-DC converters.

Silicon carbide offers more efficient designs than silicon-based devices due to its higher switching frequency capabilities, but selecting appropriate material variants and meeting design requirements requires special expertise. Aptiv is uniquely qualified as a system integrator to facilitate adoption of silicon carbide technology for automotive applications like onboard charging and DC-to-DC converters – contact us now and find out how we can support your EV power electronics design needs.