On melting of silicon carbide under pressure

TL;DR

This study investigates the melting behavior of silicon carbide under high pressure, revealing that it melts congruently with a negative melting curve slope, which has implications for understanding its phase diagram.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurements of silicon carbide's melting curve at high pressures, showing congruent melting and a negative slope.

Findings

SiC melts congruently at 5-8 GPa

Melting curve slope is -44 +/- 4 K/GPa

Data enhances understanding of SiC phase diagram

Abstract

The melting of silicon carbide has been studied at pressures 5-8 GPa and temperatures up to 3300 K. It has been found that SiC melts congruently, and its melting curve has negative slope of -44 +/- 4 K/GPa.