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 temp...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nuclear materials 2013-11, Vol.442 (1-3), p.S410-S413
Main Authors: Youngblood, G.E., Thomsen, E.C., Henager, C.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contact resistance
CVD-SiC
Electrical conductivity
Electrical resistivity
Electrodes
Glass transition temperature
Resistivity
SiC
Silicon carbide
Temperature dependence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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 ∼973K. The Rc-values behaved similarly for each type of metallic electrode: Rc>∼1000Ωcm2 at RT, decreasing continuously to ∼1–10Ωcm2 at 973K. The temperature dependence of the inverse Rc indicated thermally activated electrical conduction across the SiC/metallic interface with an apparent activation energy of ∼0.3eV. For the flow channel insert application in a fusion reactor blanket, contact resistance potentially could reduce the transverse electrical conductivity by about 50%.
ISSN:0022-3115
1873-4820
DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.04.096