The β→α Transformation in Polycrystalline SiC: IV, A Comparison of Conventionally Sintered, Hot‐Pressed, Reaction‐Sintered, and Chemically Vapor‐Deposited Samples

Microstructural characterization of conventionally sintered, hot‐pressed, reaction‐sintered, and chemically vapor‐deposited polycrystalline SiC shows that the initial stages of the β→α transformation in the first three materials are similar, the process being dominated by the elimination of high‐energy β→α interfaces. In the final stage of transformation, all four materials transform by nucleation and growth of α lamellae at {111}β twin boundaries or at β stacking faults.