Effects of contact resistance on electrical conductivity measurements of SiC-based materials

A combination 2/4-probe method was used to measure electrical resistances across a pure, monolithic CVD-SiC disc sample with contact resistance at the SiC/metallic electrode interfaces. By comparison of the almost simultaneous 2/4-probe measurements, the specific contact resistance (Rc) and its temperature dependence were determined for two types (sputtered gold and porous nickel) electrodes from room temperature (RT) to ∼973 K. The Rc-values behaved similarly for each type of metallic electrode: Rc > ∼1000 Ω cm2 at RT, decreasing continuously to ∼1–10 Ω cm2 at 973 K. The temperature dependence of the inverse Rc indicated thermally activated electrical conduction across the SiC/metallic interface with an apparent activation energy of ∼0.3 eV. For the flow channel insert application in a fusion reactor blanket, contact resistance potentially could reduce the transverse electrical conductivity by about 50%.