Fabrication of In-situ SiC/C Thermocouples by Selective Area Laser Deposition
Abstract
With the intrinsic nature to process relatively small features, selective area laser
deposition (SALD) is a potential technique to fabricate complex shaped macro-components with
in-situ high-resolution micro-devices. In this study, SALD was used to deposit in-situ silicon
carbide/carbon (SiC/C) thermocouples on alumina and silicon carbide substrates with a C02
laser. Tetramethylsilane (TMS) and acetylene (C2H2) were chosen as precursors for deposition of
the silicon carbide and carbon lines respectively. The electromotive force (emf) ofthe deposited
thermocouple was measured and found to respond sensitively to temperature variations from
room temperature to 800°C. The effect ofthe deposition parameters on the product morphology
was also investigated.