Electrical Resistivity and NTC/PTC Transition Point of a Nitrogen-Doped SiC Igniter, and Their Correlation to Electrical Heating Properties

An M-shaped SiC gas igniter was fabricated by a reaction sintering followed by nitrogen doping. The igniter showed both resistivity at room temperature and NTC to PTC transition temperature values that were lower than those of commercial igniters. It was deduced that the doped nitrogen reduces the electrical resistivity at room temperature, while, at high temperature, the doped nitrogen and a trace of $Si_3N_4$ phase work as scattering centers against electron transfer, resulting in a lowered NTC-to-PTC transition point (below $650^{\circ}C$). Such characteristics were correlated to the fast heating speed (as compared to the commercial models) and to the prevention of the high temperature overshooting of the nitrogen-doped SiC igniter.