Is silicon carbide powder an insulating material?

Silicon carbide is a high-temperature and high-power semiconductor material in the semiconductor field. However, there is a fundamental difference between silicon carbide semiconductor materials and silicon carbide abrasive materials in the field of grinding. Silicon carbide in the semiconductor industry is a single crystal from PVT or HTCVD method. It shows different conductivity with temperature change. In the field of grinding, silicon carbide powder is a silicon carbide polymer produced by high-temperature melting and smelting. It is an insulting material at room temperature and suitable for making silicon carbide functional ceramics.

The resistivity of silicon carbide is between 10^-2-10¹² Ω· cm. Its conductivity rapidly increases with the increase of electric field strength. This conductivity exhibits nonlinear changes. As the temperature increases, the conductivity of industrial silicon carbide increases. Then reaches its peak at a certain temperature. Afterward, when the temperature keeps rising, the conductivity will decrease. The resistivity of silicon carbide increases with the decrease in temperature and can reach 10⁵-10¹² Ω· cm at room temperature, making it an insulating material.

Therefore, silicon carbide powder is not only the main material of silicon carbide ceramics but also an additive material for insulation coatings. Under the premise of insulation, enhance the wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high-temperature resistance of the coating.