Fabrication and properties of ceramic coatings for CTR liquid blanket by sputtering method

Development of ceramic coating is one of the most important subjects in fusion-reactor liquid-metal blanket R&D. Al(2)O(3) and AIN are candidate materials for ceramic coatings because of their high electrical resistivity and high thermodynamic stability. In this study, Al(2)O(3) and AW coatings were fabricated by the RF sputtering method and their properties were investigated. The prepared Al(2)O(3) coating was amorphous, and it had high electrical resistance with no porous structure. On the other hand, the resistance of the prepared AIN coating changed in the range of 10 orders of magnitude depending on the composition of the working gas. This is presumably derived from the nitrogen deficiency in the product. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.