Amorphous silica coating on carbon fiber by bipolar pulsed RF-PECVD: A step towards advanced composites

Carbon fibers are one of the most explored fibers which are widely used for various advanced applications in aerospace, nuclear, missile technologies etc. The aim of this work was to deposit amorphous silica on the carbon fiber (Cf) tow using Radio Frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method (PECVD) based on bipolar pulse power. The silica (SiO2) was deposited at room temperature using precursor, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) under the influence of Argon plasma. A 13.56 MHz radio frequency was used to generate the plasma and the plasma power was 250W. The deposited coating on fiber was characterized by using XRD, SEM and EDS for structural identification, morphological studies and elemental composition respectively. The coated Cf was further subjected to thermal oxidation for knowing the thermal resistance of the coated Cf against the oxidation at temperatures from 400-600 °C which could enable its efficient use in advanced composites.