Year
2003
Abstract
High tech ceramics such as silicon carbide (SiC) or silicon nitride (Si3N4) have excellent technical properties which make these ceramics extremely well suited for use in the nuclear field. However, it has only been possible so far to exploit this positive potential in a limited way because no technology has been available to permit the joining of such ceramic components economically and in high quality. For the first time, the innovative laser beam joining presented here allows extremely high temperature resistant and gas tight ceramic joints to be made without heating the components in a sintering furnace. Temperature resistance can be set in a range from 1400 °C … > 1600 °C by means of a special glass ceramic solder (CERALINK@). The new process is extraordinarily efficient because the process time is reduced to a few minutes and the process runs in free atmosphere.