Fast plasma sintering deposition of nano-structured silicon carbide coatings

Fast plasma sintering deposition of SiC nano-structured coatings was achieved using a specially designed non-transferred dc plasma torch operated at reduced pressure. Employing the Taguchi method, the deposition parameters were optimized and verified. With the optimized combination of deposition parameters, homogeneous SiC coatings were deposited on relatively large area substrates of Phi 50 mm and 50 x 50 mm with a deposition rate as high as 20 mu m/min. Ablation test showed that such coatings can be used as oxidation resistance coatings in high temperature oxidizing environment. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Chinese Vacuum Society (CVS).