Patent ID: 7297368

Claim:
A method of making a carbon fiber-carbon matrix reinforced ceramic composite, said method comprising: selecting a plurality of carbon fiber bundles, each of said carbon fiber bundles including a plurality of individual carbon fibers; forming a preform from said plurality of carbon fiber bundles; forming a deposit of carbon within said carbon fiber bundles and between said plurality of carbon fiber bundles, said deposits of carbon being formed by chemical vapor deposition; recovering a resultant open porous carbon fiber-carbon matrix preform from said forming wherein said carbon fiber bundles comprise carbon fiber-carbon matrix composite reinforcements, and said open porous carbon fiber-carbon matrix preform comprises a plurality of said carbon fiber-carbon matrix composite reinforcements embedded within a matrix of sacrificial carbon, said matrix of sacrificial carbon generally forming a dense coating around said carbon fiber-carbon matrix composite reinforcements and having voids therein between said carbon fiber-carbon matrix composite reinforcements; placing said open porous carbon fiber-carbon matrix preform in contact with a molten infiltrant, said molten infiltrant having a melting point above about 1850 degrees centigrade and being capable of reacting with carbon to form a carbide; letting said molten infiltrant infiltrate said porous carbon fiber-carbon matrix preform without the application of pressure; allowing said matrix of sacrificial carbon to react with said molten infiltrant to form a metal carbide matrix, said allowing including providing an amount of said molten infiltrant that is sufficient to permit said molten infiltrant to react preferentially with said matrix of sacrificial carbon and substantially not with said carbon fiber-carbon matrix composite reinforcements; and recovering said carbon fiber-carbon matrix reinforced ceramic composite from said allowing.