A production method of a phosphor includes firing a starting material mixture in a nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature range between 1,500 C. inclusive and 2,200 C. inclusive. The starting material mixture is a mixture of metallic compounds, and is capable of constituting a composition including M, A, Al, O, and N (M is Eu; and A is one kind or two or more kinds of element(s) selected from C, Si, Ge, Sn, B, Ga, In, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Sc, Y, La, Gd, Lu, Ti, Zr, Hf, Ta, and W) by firing.

A silicon nitride sintered body according to an embodiment includes not less than 0.1 mass % and not more than 10 mass % of zirconium when converted to oxide. In XRD analysis (2) of any cross section of the silicon nitride sintered body, 0.01I.sub.35.3/I.sub.27.00.5 and 0I.sub.33.9/I.sub.27.01.0 are satisfied; I.sub.35.3 is a maximum peak intensity detected at 35.30.2 based on -silicon nitride crystal grains; I.sub.27.0 is a most intense peak detected at 27.00.2 based on -silicon nitride crystal grains; and I.sub.33.9 is a most intense peak detected at 33.90.2 based on zirconium nitride.

The present invention provides a silicon nitride wear resistant member comprising a silicon nitride sintered compact containing -Si.sub.3N.sub.4 crystal grains as a main component, 2 to 4% by mass of a rare earth element in terms of oxide, 2 to 6% by mass of Al in terms of oxide, and 0.1 to 5% by mass of Hf in terms of oxide, wherein the silicon nitride sintered compact has rare earth-HfO compound crystals; in an arbitrary section, an area ratio of the rare earth-HfO compound crystals in a grain boundary phase per unit area of 30 m30 m is 5 to 50%; and variation of the area ratios of the rare earth-HfO compound crystals between the unit areas is 10% or less. Due to above structure, there can be provided a wear resistant member comprising the silicon nitride sintered compact having an excellent wear resistance and processability.

A silicon carbide based material exhibiting high strength, good thermal shock resistance, high resistance to abrasion and being chemically stable to harsh environmental conditions is described. The carbide Ball Hill ceramic comprises a -SiAlON bonding phase in which sintering is facilitated by at least one rare earth oxide sintering agents incorporated within the Vibrating Sieve batch admixture as starting materials. The residual rare earth sintering aid being chosen so as to impart good mechanical and refractory properties.

Provided is a silicon nitride powder containing silicon nitride and carbon, wherein a mass proportion Cp of carbon with respect to the entire powder is 0.05% or more, and wherein a mass proportion Cs of carbon contained in a surface portion of the powder with respect to the entire powder is 0.05% or less. Provided is a method for manufacturing silicon nitride powder, the method including: molding a kneaded material containing a silicon powder and an organic binder to obtain a molded body, degreasing the molded body by heating the molded body at 900 C. or more and less than 1100 C. for 1 hour or more; firing the molded body in a mixed atmosphere containing nitrogen and at least one selected from a group consisting of hydrogen and ammonia to obtain a fired product containing silicon nitride and carbon; and pulverizing the fired product.

A silicon nitride-type sintered body has a total content of at least one metal M selected from the group consisting of Mg. Ca and Y of from 0.2 to 8.0% by mass, an Al content of from 4.0 to 12.0% by mass, an O content of from 4.0 to 12.0% by mass, and a fracture toughness value of from 5.0 to 10.0 MPa.Math.m.sup.1/2.

An electrostatic chuck is provided. Implemented according to an embodiment of the present invention is an electrostatic chuck comprising: a silicon nitride sintered body; a surface modification layer covering at least a portion of the external surface of the silicon nitride sintered body and having corrosion resistance and plasma resistance; and an electrostatic electrode laid inside the silicon nitride sintered body. Therefore, the electrostatic chuck includes a ceramic sintered body of silicon nitride, and thus has excellent plasma resistance, chemical resistance, and thermal shock resistance while exhibiting an equivalent or similar level of heat dissipation performance compared to ceramic sintered bodies of aluminum nitride that have been conventionally widely used, so that the electrostatic chuck can be widely used in semiconductor processes.