Patent ID: 7223464

Claim:
A composite material comprising: a base material comprising carbon fibers and carbon; and composite portions comprising a plurality of protruding portions which comprise at least silicon carbide and which are formed on at least one of a first surface and an opposed second surface of the composite material as islands distributed in the base material, and a plurality of leg portions comprising at least silicon carbide and which extend into the base material; wherein the leg portions each comprise partially hollow tubes that extend within the base material from one of the first surface and the second surface of the composite material toward the other one of the first and second surfaces of the composite material, such that the leg portions extending from the first surface of the composite material are provided in alternating positions with respect to the leg portions extending from the second surface of the composite material, and such that tip portions of the leg portions within the base material that extend from one of the first and second surfaces of the composite material extend beyond tip portions of the leg portions within the base material that extend from the other one of the first and second surfaces of the composite material; and wherein a length of the leg portions is less than a distance between first and second surfaces of the base material such that the tip portions of the leg portions do not protrude beyond the first and second surfaces of the composite material.