Prebrazing of Ceramics by Plasma Spraying for Metal-Ceramic Joining

Traditional brazing alloys do not wet ceramics and are therefore unusable for metal-ceramic bonding. One way to overcome the problem is by depositing a metal layer onto the ceramic prior to brazing. The approach taken in this paper was to plasma spray copper onto different ceramics (Al2O3, AlN, SiAlON) and then assess the wettability of potential brazing alloys (AgCu, AgCuTi). Interface analysis showed that silver and titanium segregation occurs at the ceramic surface and that, conversely, sprayed copper diffuses into the brazed joint.