Improving the Mechanical Properties of SiC-ceramics by means of Vacuum Electron-ion-plasma Alloying with Titanium

Abstract

The investigation results of elemental and phase composition, state of defective substructure and microhardness of the surface layer of "film (Ti)/substrate (SiC-ceramics)" system (Ti film 0.5 [mu]m thick was deposited on the surface of SiC-ceramics) subjected to treatment with an intense pulsed low-energy electron beam (15 J/cm{2}, 200 [mu]s, 0.3 s{-1}, 20 pulses) are presented. It is shown that irradiation of the "film (Ti)/substrate (SiC-ceramics)" system with an electron beam is accompanied by the formation of multielement multiphase (SiC; TiC; Ti5Si[3]) surface layer having submicro- and nanocrystalline structure. Microhardness of the irradiated surface layer reaches a value of 74 GPa, that is twice the value of microhardness of SiC-ceramics (36 GPa).