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Specialist Ceramic Coatings

Ceramic Coatings

Thermic Edge Ltd is the sole manufacturer of high purity Cubic Silicon Carbide (SiC3) and Cubic Titanium Carbide (TiC3) ceramic coatings, that can be applied to purified graphite, ceramics and refractory metal components.

Overview
SiC3 Coating
TiC3 Coating

Ceramic Coatings Overview

Thermic Edge Ltd is the sole manufacturer of high purity Cubic Silicon Carbide (SiC3) and Cubic Titanium Carbide (TiC3) ceramic coatings, that can be applied to purified graphite, ceramics and refractory metal components.

These very high purity coatings are mainly intended for use in the semiconductor and electronics industries, for protecting wafer carriers, susceptors and heating elements from corrosive and reactive environments such as MOCVD and EPI processes, used for wafer processing and device manufacture. The coatings are also suitable for vacuum furnaces and sample heating in high vacuum, reactive and Oxygen environments.

Thermic Edge’s state of the art machine shop allows us to offer a complete solution including manufacture of the base graphite, ceramic or refractory metal component, and the SiC3 or TiC3 ceramic coating. We also offer a coating only service for customer supplied parts.

SiC3 High Purity Silicon Carbide – SiC Carbide Coating

SiC3 is our trade name for our high purity cubic Silicon Carbide ceramic coating. It is applied to components to protect them from Oxidation or reaction with other gasses at high temperature. The SiC3 coating is applied using a high temperature, very high purity Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) reactor.

SiC3 coating is an electrical insulator, incredibly hard and has good corrosion and oxidation resistance. It can withstand temperatures up to 1600C at atmospheric pressure.

SiC3 Cubic Silicon Carbide ceramic coating can be applied to the following materials:-

  • High Purity Isostatic Graphite (low CTE)
  • Tungsten
  • Silicon Carbide (in most forms)
  • Silicon Nitride
  • Carbon Carbon Composite (CCC)

SiC3 Cubic Silicon Carbide ceramic coating can be used at high temperature in the following environments:-

  • Oxygen (O2)
  • Hydrogen (H)
  • Nitrogen (N2)
  • Sulphur (S)
  • Ammonia (NH3)
  • Hydrogen Chloride (HCL)
  • Methane (CH4) and other hydrocarbons
  • Carbon-Monoxide (CO) / Carbon-Dioxide (CO2)
  • MOCVD Processing
  • Epitaxial Processing
  • CVD, PECVD & PVD thin film deposition.
  • High Vacuum (Max operating temperature is reduced)
  • Inert Atmospheres
  • RF / DC Plasma processes

TiC3 High Purity Titanium Carbide Coating – TiC Carbide Coating

TiC3 is our trade name for our high purity cubic Titanium Carbide ceramic coating. It is applied to graphite components to protect them from vaporisation in high vacuum (HV) and Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) at high temperature and reaction with other gasses at high temperature. The TiC3 coating is applied using a high temperature, very high purity Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) reactor.

TiC3 coating is a very good electrical conductor and can withstand very high temperatures up to 3000C. It has a very low vapour pressure, enabling it to operate at high temperature in high vacuum and Ultra High Vacuum (UHV). It is incredibly hard and has good corrosion resistance. It does not like oxygen however and will readily react with O2.

TiC3 Cubic Titanium Carbide ceramic coating can only be applied to high expansion graphite products, as it has a CTE of about 7x10e-6 mm/C

TiC3 Cubic Titanium Carbide ceramic coating can be used at high temperature and also very high vacuum in the following environments:-

  • Hydrogen (H)
  • Nitrogen (N2)
  • Sulphur (S)
  • Ammonia (NH3)
  • Hydrogen Chloride (HCL)
  • Methane (CH4) and other hydrocarbons
  • Carbon-Monoxide (CO) / Carbon-Dioxide (CO2)
  • MOCVD Processing
  • Epitaxial Processing
  • CVD, PECVD & PVD thin film deposition.
  • High Vacuum (Max operating temperature is reduced)
  • Inert Atmospheres
  • RF / DC Plasma processes

SiC3 Cubic Silicon Carbide coating has the following advantages over conventional SiC coatings:

  • Cubic structure giving high density coating – This vastly improves corrosion and wear resistance and increases the component’s life.
  • High Thickness Uniformity – SiC3 coating offers high coating thickness uniformity of +/-10microns on 100micron thick coating. We are working on improving this uniformity further to +/-5 microns, in the near future.
  • Excellent coverage down blind holes – With 30% coating thickness down the bottom of a Ø1x5mm deep hole.
  • Very High purity coating (<5ppm impurities) – Is achievable by using high purity gases in the coating process, while also remaining low in N2 absorption to achieve higher than industry standard purity.
  • Adjustable surface roughness – The coating process can be tailored to give different surface roughness’s, to suit different applications.
  • Fast delivery – Typical coating time is 2 weeks from receipt of the base part.

TiC3 Cubic Silicon Carbide coating has the following advantages:-

  • Incredibly high operating temperature – Can operate up to 3000C at atmospheric pressure
  • Very low vapour pressure – It can operate at over 2200C in 10e-8 Torr vacuum, without evaporating.
  • Cubic structure giving high density pin hole free coating – This vastly improves corrosion and wear resistance and increases the component’s life.
  • Excellent coverage down blind holes – With 30% coating thickness down the bottom of a Ø1x5mm deep hole.
  • Very High purity coating (<100ppm impurities) – Is achievable by using high purity gases in the coating process, while also remaining low in N2 absorption to achieve higher than industry standard purity.
  • Adjustable surface roughness – The coating process can be tailored to give different surface roughness’s, to suit different applications.

Our Mission

At Thermic Edge, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the Vacuum Heating Technology Industry. We provide a complete service, our bespoke and versatile ranges give you the tools necessary for any inert, HV or UHV application.

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