Abstract:
Preparation and mechanical and thermoelectric properties were studied for SiC-B
4C composite films. The results show that thermal plasma PVD with SiC and B
4C ultrafine powders as starting materials is a suitable method for the high-rate preparation of SiC-B
4C composite films.The good qualified SiC-B
4C composite films with a layer-by-layer structure were deposited at a maximum deposition rate of 356 nm/s. The micro Vickers hardness of the deposited films increases with the increasing of B
4C content, and the maximum hardness of 35 GPa is obtained. The electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient decrease with the increasing of B
4C content, and the maximum power factor at 973 K reaches 640 μWm
-1K
-2 which is 21 times that of sintered SiC.