Silicon and Silicon Carbide Survivability in an In-Cylinder Combustion Environment

Silicon Carbide is often proposed as a sensor material for use in harsh environment applications such as monitoring gas turbines and internal combustion engines. However, little SiC survivability research has been reported for these environments. In this work, data is reported for silicon and amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) coated die survivability in a combustion engine with an exhaust temperature of 800°C. It was found that an oil residue was deposited on the test samples, the surfaces of both sample types were roughened, and no measurable oxide was grown. Preliminary data indicate that the oil deposition rate increases with time for both samples, but more oil adheres to the silicon. There appears to be no correlation between material type and the severity of the surface roughening. These results lay the groundwork for robust in-cylinder SiC sensor design and operation.