Preparation of high-quality β-SiC coating via chemical vapor deposition using the SiCl4–CH4–H2–N2 system

This study systematically investigated for the first time the effects of varying the temperature, pressure, C/Si molar ratio, and H 2 /Si molar ratio on β-SiC coatings produced via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using the SiCl 4 –CH 4 –H 2 –N 2 system. Thermodynamic theoretical calculations were performed using the HSC Chemistry software. The temperature and C/Si molar ratio considerably affected the morphology, phase, and composition of β-SiC coatings. High-quality β-SiC coatings along the (111) crystal plane exhibiting a uniform surface, high density, low roughness, and good crystallinity were successfully synthesized at 1523.15 K and 200 Pa with a C/Si molar ratio of 1.0 and H 2 /Si molar ratio of 6.5. Additionally, when N 2 was used as the dilution gas instead of Ar, the resulting β-SiC coatings demonstrated reduced roughness, fewer free carbon, increased hardness (37.05 GPa vs. 39.19 GPa), enhanced modulus of elasticity (237.26 GPa vs. 264.24 GPa), and superior coating adhesion (16.48 MPa vs. 18.29 MPa).