Joining of Silicon Carbide with a Cordierite Glass-Ceramic

A method for the joining of silicon carbide using a cordierite glass-ceramic has been developed. Cordierite, with glass-ceramic processing, remains amorphous and wets the SiC substrate to form a strong bond when rapidly fired. Subsequent heat treatment crystallizes a multiphase interlayer with a matching bulk thermal expansion coefficient (CTE). A benchtop tape casting method for depositing joining precursor films of varying thickness is described. The wetting characteristics of cordierite on SiC that are pertinent to the joining process are shown to be highly sensitive to processing atmosphere. Doping with a fluoride ion flux can lower the peak processing temperature without significantly altering the crystallization path. The effect of interlayer thickness is observed by monitoring indentation crack paths and with 4-point bending tests. Controlling the degree of crystallinity is shown to tailor the mismatches in thermal expansion coefficient and elastic moduli to produce joints of high strength (σ_F > 500 MPa). Characterization is accomplished with XRD, SEM, and TEM.