FABRICATION AND PROPERTIES OF AL2O3 AND A1N COATINGS FOR FUSION-REACTOR BLANKET BY SPUTTERING METHOD

The development of insulating ceramic coatings is one of the most impo rtant subjects in fusion reactor liquid metal blanket R&D. Al2O3 and A IN are candidate materials for ceramic coatings because of their high electrical resistivity and high thermodynamic stability. In this study , Al2O3 and AIN coatings were fabricated by the RF sputtering method, and their properties were investigated. The prepared Al2O3 coatings se emed to be amorphous, and they had high electrical resistivity with hi gh density comparable with the theoretical density. On the other hand, the prepared AIN coatings had remarkably low electrical resistivity b ecause they presumably had non-stoichiometry (AIN(1-x)). (C) 1998 Else vier Science S.A.