FIELD-ASSISTED SELF-PROPAGATING SYNTHESIS OF BETA-SIC

We report on the effect of an electric field on the self-propagating reaction between silicon and carbon to synthesize beta-SiC. In the absence of a field at a threshold level, no self-sustaining reaction is observed, and as the applied voltage increases, a linear increase in the velocity of the reaction wave is observed. This first demonstration of the effect of fields on such reactions is explained in terms of a model in which the role of the field is confined to the reaction zone.