Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2011
SiB6 has proved to a potentially useful material because of its excellent thermoelectrical properties above 700°C, low specific gravity, high degree of hardness, and moderate melting point. SiB6, which has poor sinterability with a conventional sintering technique due to the covalent characteristic, has been successfully densified fully using a spark plasma sintering(SPS) method. The SPS-processed specimens consisted of SiB6, SiB4 and SixBy phases. Pure SiB6 powder were densified fully at the sintering temperature of 1600°C. In particular, it was found that the rare earth element was very effective in evolving the microstructure of SiB6 phase, resulting in reducing the sintering temperature and controlling grain growth. These effects were discussed in details in terms of microstructure evolution during the SPS process.