Chemical Vapor Deposition for Silicon Cladding on Advanced Ceramics

Polycrystalline Si was used to clad several advanced ceramic materials such as SiC, Si₃N₄, sapphire, Al₂O₃, pyrolytic BN, and Si by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The thickness of Si cladding ranged from 0.025 to 3.0 mm. CVD Si adhered quite well to all the above materials except Al₂O₃, where the Si cladding was highly stressed and cracked or delaminated. A detailed material characterization of Si-clad SiC samples showed that Si adherence to SiC does not depend much on the substrate surface preparation; that the thermal cycling and polishing of the samples do not cause delamination; and that, in four-point bend tests, the Si–SiC bond remains intact, with the failure occurring in the Si.