Silicon carbide with aluminum, boron, and carbon additions (ABC-SiC) was hot-pressed to full density. The samples were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with an emphasis on high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Amorphous grain boundary interlayers, typically less than 2 nm wide, were formed between SiC grains. Heat-treating the ABC-SiC at temperatures as low as 1100°C in Ar crystallized the grain boundary interlayers completely without significantly changing the dominant chemical constituents. Chemical microanalyses demonstrated Al and O enrichment for all examined grain boundaries in both as-prepared and annealed samples. Quantitative EDS analyses revealed Al 2 OC-and Al 2 O 3 -related species (with Si, C, B, or S substitutions) as two of the most likely grain boundary interlayer materials, both before and after heat treatment. Al 2 O 3 , and (Al 1؊x Si x ) 2 OC with a 2H-type wurtzite structure, were identified as grain boundary films by HREM images. The structural evolution in the grain boundary phases during the hot pressing and postannealing is discussed.

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