The electronic application of materials from the B-N-C-Si compositional tetrahedron

The B-N-C-Si system compiles crystalline and disordered phases which combine exceptional electronic band structures, hardness and other mechanical properties and some kind of chemical inertness. Electronic application of materials from B-C-N-Si compositional tetrahedron are successful in many respects but also poses many problems and obstacles in the development of practical devices. These problems are related in part to the growth processes and growth defccts because of difficulty of matching the requirements for the electronic devices with the real materials. This review follows a sequence from the quatemary B-C-N-Si phases to diamond. There is a renewed interest in the synthesis of Si-N-C ceramic bodies using polysilazancs as precursors.