β‐Si3N4Whiskers Embedded in Oxynitride Glasses: Interfacial Microstructure

Interfacial microstructures in βP-Si3N4(w)-Si-Al-Y-O-N-glass systems were investigated by systematically varying the nitrogen content and the Al:Y ratio of the glass matrix. High-resolution and analytical transmission electron microscopy (HREM and AEM) studies revealed that the interfacial microstructure is a function of the glass composition. No interfacial phases were formed in glasses with low Al:Y ratios and in glasses with high Al:Y ratios and low nitrogen content, whereas epitaxial growth of an interfacial layer (100–200 μm thick) on the βP-Si3N4(w) occurred in a glass matrix with high Al:Y ratio and high nitrogen content. The interfacial layer was identified to be a β'-SiAION phase. Interfaces containing the SiAION layer exhibited high debonding energy compared to Si3N4(w)–glass interfaces. HREM studies indicated that the lattice-mismatch strain in the SiAION layer was relieved by dislocation formation at the SiAION–Si3N4(w) interface. The difference in interfacial debonding energy was, hence, attributed to the local atomic structure and bonding between the glass-β-Si3N4 and the glass–β'-SiAION phases. This observation was clear evidence of the strong influence of glass chemistry on the interfacial debonding behavior by altering the interfacial microstructure.