EFFECT OF THE N2/Ar FLOW RATIO ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF TiSiCN COATINGS

TiSiCN coatings were prepared with the multi-arc ion plating and magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of the N2/Ar flow ratio on the properties of TiSiCN coatings was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and a friction and wear tester (UMT-3). With an increase in the N2/Ar flow ratio, the number of large particles on the surface first increases and then decreases. The intensity of the TiN (200) diffraction peak increases gradually, while the grain size first decreases and then increases. A TiSiCN coating consists of Ti (N, C) nanocrystallites, amorphous SiC, Si3N4 and carbon. When the N2/Ar flow ratio is 5 : 1, the coating exhibits the highest hardness and excellent wear resistance.

Effect of Impurities Control on the Crystallization and Densification of Polymer-Derived SiC Fibers

The polymer-derived SiC fibers are mainly used as reinforcing materials for ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) because of their excellent mechanical properties at high temperature. However, decomposition reactions such as release of SiO and CO gases and the formation of pores proceed above 1400 °C because of impurities introduced during the curing process. In this study, polycrystalline SiC fibers were fabricated by applying iodine-curing method and using controlled pyrolysis conditions to investigate crystallization and densification behavior. Oxygen and iodine impurities in amorphous SiC fibers were reduced without pores by diffusion and release to the fiber surface depending on the pyrolysis time. In addition, the reduction of the impurity content had a positive effect on the densification and crystallization of polymer-derived SiC fibers without a sintering aid above the sintering temperature. Consequently, dense Si-Al-C-O polycrystalline fibers containing β-SiC crystal grains of 50~100 nm were easily fabricated through the blending method and controlled pyrolysis conditions.

Preparation and Characterization of Pure SiC Ceramics by HTPVT Induced by Seeding with SiC Nanoarrays

Dense SiC ceramics were fabricated by high-temperature physical vapor transport (HTPVT) growth process using SiC nanoarrays as the crystal seeds, which was obtained by vacuum heat treatment of amorphous SiC films prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with a porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. In the HTPVT process, two-step holding was adopted, and the temperature at the first step was controlled at 2100 and 2150 °C to avoid SiC nanoarrays evaporation, and the grain size of SiC crystal increased with the increase in temperature and decrease in the pressure of Ar. The temperature of the second step was 2300 °C, and rapid SiC grain growth and gradual densification were achieved. The prepared SiC ceramics exhibited a relative density of more than 99%, an average grain size of about 100 μm, a preferred orientation along the (0 0 0 6) plane, a Vickers hardness of about 29 GPa, a flexural strength of about 360 MPa, and thermal conductivity at room temperature of more than 200 W·m−1·K−1.

Structures, Electronic Properties and Carrier Transport Mechanisms of Si Nano-Crystalline Embedded in the Amorphous SiC Films with Various Si/C Ratios

Recent investigations of fundamental electronic properties (especially the carrier transport mechanisms) of Si nanocrystal embedded in the amorphous SiC films are highly desired in order to further develop their applications in nano-electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, Boron-doped Si nanocrystals embedded in the amorphous SiC films were prepared by thermal annealing of Boron-doped amorphous Si-rich SiC films with various Si/C ratios. Carrier transport properties in combination with microstructural characteristics were investigated via temperature dependence Hall effect measurements. It should be pointed out that Hall mobilities, carrier concentrations as well as conductivities in films were increased with Si/C ratio, which could be reached to the maximum of 7.2 cm2/V∙s, 4.6 × 1019 cm−3 and 87.5 S∙cm−1, respectively. Notably, different kinds of carrier transport behaviors, such as Mott variable-range hopping, multiple phonon hopping, percolation hopping and thermally activation conduction that play an important role in the transport process, were identified within different temperature ranges (10 K~400 K) in the films of different Si/C ratio. The changes from Mott variable-range hopping process to thermally activation conduction process with temperature were observed and discussed in detail.

Machine-Learning-Based Atomistic Model Analysis on High-Temperature Compressive Creep Properties of Amorphous Silicon Carbide

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) based on silicon carbide (SiC) are used for high-temperature applications such as the hot section in turbines. For such applications, the mechanical properties at a high temperature are essential for lifetime prediction and reliability design of SiC-based CMC components. We developed an interatomic potential function based on the artificial neural network (ANN) model for silicon-carbon systems aiming at investigation of high-temperature mechanical properties of SiC materials. We confirmed that the developed ANN potential function reproduces typical material properties of the single crystals of SiC, Si, and C consistent with first-principles calculations. We also validated applicability of the developed ANN potential to a simulation of an amorphous SiC through the analysis of the radial distribution function. The developed ANN potential was applied to a series of creep test for an amorphous SiC model, focusing on the amorphous phase, which is expected to be formed in the SiC-based composites. As a result, we observed two types of creep behavior due to different atomistic mechanisms depending on the strain rate. The evaluated activation energies are lower than the experimental values in literature. This result indicates that an amorphous region can play an important role in the creep process in SiC composites.