Manufacturing silicon carbide microrotors by reactive hot isostatic pressing within micromachined silicon molds

A novel ceramic microfabrication process-based on the idea of silicon carbide (SIC) reaction sintering within a micromachined silicon mold-has been developed to produce a SiC microroter for miniaturized gas turbines. The new process involves the micromachining of silicon molds; filling the molds with powder mixtures of α-SiC, graphite, and phenol resin; bonding the molds with an adhesive; reaction sintering by hot isostatic pressing (HIP); and the releasing of a reactionsintered workpiece from the mold by wet etching. Using this process, we have successfully fabricated SiC microrotors with a diameter of 5 mm, whose complicated geometry was well transferred from the negative shape of the micromachined silicon mold. The reaction-HIPed SiC ceramics within Si molds showed reasonably good mechanical properties, which are comparable to those of the commercialized reaction-sintered SiC ceramics.