EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

The joining of titanium alloys to advanced ceramics allows the possibility of combining their excellent properties, which is essential to expand the range of potential applications of this last one, e.g., aerospace industry and microelectromechanical systems [1]. However, the joining of these dissimilar materials has several challenges due to their distinct physical and mechanical properties. Diffusion bonding process is one of the most suitable techniques used to join dissimilar materials, mainly when associated to interlayers that can have a key role to overcome these challenges [2].
In this work, the joining of Ti-6Al-4V to alumina (Al2O3) using as interlayer Ti thin films was investigated. Ti thin films with thickness of 1µm were deposited by magnetron sputtering onto the Al2O3 base material. The joints were performed by diffusion bonding using temperatures of 900, 950 and 1000 °C, process time of 10 and 60 minutes, and contact pressure under vacuum.
Microstructural characterization of the interface was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).
The results show that the processing conditions have a significant effect on the quality of the joint. The interfaces formed are characterized by a thin thickness and exhibit elevated content of Al due to its diffusion from Al2O3 towards Ti-6Al-4V.

[1] Kaneko, A.; Katayama, T.; Morishita, S. Micro Fabrication of Au Thin-Film by Transfer-Printing Using Atomic Diffusion Bonding. Int. J. Autom. Technol. 2019, 13, 810–816.
[2] Gietzelt, T.; Toth, V.; Huell, A. Diffusion Bonding: Influence of Process Parameters and Material Microstructure. Join. Technol. 2016, 195, doi:10.5772/64312.