A TECHNIQUE FOR SPUTTER COATING OF CERAMIC REINFORCEMENT PARTICLES

The reinforcement/matrix interface is a key factor in determining the properties of composite materials. The microstructure and, therefore, the properties of interfaces are determined by composition and composi te processing. Coatings applied to the reinforcement phase will change the composition near the interface and may improve the interface prop erties. In this study, a technique for sputter coating ceramic powders was developed and used to coat large SiC particles (mean size of 142 mu m) with copper. The copper coating was found to be face-centered cu bic by X-ray diffraction and continuous using X-ray mapping. These par ticles were mixed with Cu powder and sintered to form a Cu-matrix comp osite material. Although the copper coating did not significantly impr ove the interfacial bonding in these materials, the success in coating ceramic particles suggests that this approach may be useful in other composite systems.