Silicon carbide thin films as nuclear ceramics grown by laser ablation

Silicon carbide has been identified as a potential inert matrix candidate for advanced fuel. In this work, the growth of SiC thin films by pulsed laser deposition is reported. The stoicheometry and thickness of deposited films was investigated by non-Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The influence of the deposition parameters, i.e. substrate temperature and laser fluence on the structure, morphology and optical properties of the deposited thin layers was studied. It was found that polycrystalline SiC thin films with uniform surface morphology were obtained at 873 K.