Ultrafine Si3N4 Research Articles

Characterization of a hybrid plasma and its application to a chemical synthesis

A numerical model has been developed for predicting the two-dimensional flow and temperature fields in a hybrid plasma which is characterized by the superposition of an rf plasma and an arc jet. Calculations have been made for the confirmation of a prominent feature of the hybrid plasma. As might be expected, the derived results suggested that the hybrid plasma has a possibility to offer higher efficiencies for practical processing than other conventional plasmas. Particularly noteworthy is the disappearance of a recirculation eddy found in a usual rf plasma, by the presence of the high velocity and high-temperature channel caused by an arc jet flow. Moreover, the relative insensitive character of the exit gas enthalpy to the rf input power was found. Based on the theoretical investigations, a reactor was designed to confirm the effectiveness of the hybrid plasma for chemical syntheses. Using the reactor, ultrafine amorphous Si3N4 with the nitrogen content of 37±0.5 wt. % and the size of 10–30 nm, which can meet the purity and size requirements of an ideal Si3N4 powder, could be prepared successfully by a reaction of SiCl4 and NH3. These theoretical and experimental investigations confirmed that the hybrid plasma torch is an effective reactor for the preparation of ultrafine refractory compounds by plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes.