Patent ID: 6358565
Filing Date: 2002-03-19
Classification: C04B,C23C

Abstract:
Method for providing a protective coating on a substrate, said method comprising:providing a substrate made of a material having a softening temperature which is above the melting temperature of silicon, said substrate having a surface; covering said surface with a porous carbon coating consisting essentially of carbon, wherein said coating has an open porosity in a range between 40 and 95%; applying a further coating layer consisting essentially of silicon directly on said porous carbon coating and over the substrate, wherein the ratio of the mass of the applied silicon to the mass of the carbon is selected from within a range of 2.35 to 49; heating said substrate to a temperature above the melting point of silicon but below the boiling point of silicon, said heating being done under vacuum or in an inert atmosphere to thereby cause the silicon to melt and infiltrate the porous carbon coating and to bring said silicon to reaction with the carbon; and cooling said substrate down to room temperature, wherein said substrate is thereby coated with a homogeneous protective layer consisting only of silicon carbide and free silicon with a thickness of the finished protective coating layer in the range of 0.2 mm to 2 mm.