A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder and crystal since 1893 for use as an abrasive.

Large single crystals of silicon carbide can be grown by the Lely method and they can be cut into gems known as synthetic moissanite.

Natural moissanite was first found in 1893 as a small component of the Canyon Diablo meteorite in Arizona by Ferdinand Henri Moissan, after whom the material was named in 1905.

[7] Moissan's discovery of naturally occurring SiC was initially disputed because his sample may have been contaminated by silicon carbide saw blades that were already on the market at that time.

[9] Non-systematic, less-recognized and often unverified syntheses of silicon carbide include: Wide-scale production is credited to Edward Goodrich Acheson in 1891.

[11] Acheson was attempting to prepare artificial diamonds when he heated a mixture of clay (aluminium silicate) and powdered coke (carbon) in an iron bowl.

[15] In 1907 Henry Joseph Round produced the first LED by applying a voltage to a SiC crystal and observing yellow, green and orange emission at the cathode.

The simplest process to manufacture silicon carbide is to combine silica sand and carbon in an Acheson graphite electric resistance furnace at a high temperature, between 1,600 °C (2,910 °F) and 2,500 °C (4,530 °F).

[17] The silica fume, which is a byproduct of producing silicon metal and ferrosilicon alloys, can also be converted to SiC by heating with graphite at 1,500 °C (2,730 °F).

[34] Alpha silicon carbide (α-SiC) is the most commonly encountered polymorph, and is formed at temperatures greater than 1,700 °C and has a hexagonal crystal structure (similar to Wurtzite).

[39] The rainbow-like luster of the crystals is due to the thin-film interference of a passivation layer of silicon dioxide that forms on the surface.

[19][38] Silicon carbide is a semiconductor, which can be doped n-type by nitrogen or phosphorus and p-type by beryllium, boron, aluminium, or gallium.

[43] In the arts, silicon carbide is a popular abrasive in modern lapidary due to the durability and low cost of the material.

[44] In the 1980s and 1990s, silicon carbide was studied in several research programs for high-temperature gas turbines in Europe, Japan and the United States.

The growth of abnormally long silicon carbide grains may serve to impart a toughening effect through crack-wake bridging, similar to whisker reinforcement.

[49] In December 2015, infusion of silicon carbide nano-particles in molten magnesium was mentioned as a way to produce a new strong and plastic alloy suitable for use in aeronautics, aerospace, automobile and micro-electronics.

A crystal radio "carborundum" (synthetic silicon carbide) detector diode was patented by Henry Harrison Chase Dunwoody in 1906.

In 1993, the silicon carbide was considered a semiconductor in both research and early mass production providing advantages for fast, high-temperature and/or high-voltage devices.

[60] Apart from crystal quality, problems with the interface of SiC with silicon dioxide have hampered the development of SiC-based power MOSFETs and insulated-gate bipolar transistors.

A significant increase in production of silicon carbide is projected, beginning with a large plant opened 2022 by Wolfspeed, in upstate New York.

When General Electric of America introduced its SSL-1 Solid State Lamp in March 1967, using a tiny chip of semi-conducting SiC to emit a point of yellow light, it was then the world's brightest LED.

[70] Carbide LED production soon stopped when a different material, gallium nitride, showed 10–100 times brighter emission.

The growth technology (chemical vapor deposition) has been scaled up to produce disks of polycrystalline silicon carbide up to 3.5 m (11 ft) in diameter, and several telescopes like the Herschel Space Telescope are already equipped with SiC optics,[71][72] as well the Gaia space observatory spacecraft subsystems are mounted on a rigid silicon carbide frame, which provides a stable structure that will not expand or contract due to heat.

[73][74] References to silicon carbide heating elements exist from the early 20th century when they were produced by Acheson's Carborundum Co. in the U.S. and EKL in Berlin.

[75] The outer thermal protection layer of NASA's LOFTID inflatable heat shield incorporates a woven ceramic made from silicon carbide, with fiber of such small diameter that it can be bundled and spun into a yarn.

A layer of silicon carbide gives coated fuel particles structural support and is the main diffusion barrier to the release of fission products.

Many thermal diamond-testing devices cannot distinguish moissanite from diamond, but the gem is distinct in its birefringence and a very slight green or yellow fluorescence under ultraviolet light.

[86] The natural resistance to oxidation exhibited by silicon carbide, as well as the discovery of new ways to synthesize the cubic β-SiC form, with its larger surface area, has led to significant interest in its use as a heterogeneous catalyst support.

And after the rapid heat treating of this substance, the carbon atoms would then become more abundant at the surface interface of the transition metal film which would then yield graphene.

[98] Silicon Carbide rings are fit into a guide frame, typically made from stainless steel or titanium which keep the line from touching the rod blank.