New Laser Technique Revolutionizes Ultra-High Ceramic Manufacturing for Spacecraft: Researchers have demonstrated a new technique that uses lasers to create ceramics that can withstand ultra-high temperatures, with applications ranging from nuclear power technologies to spacecraft and jet exhaust systems.

A new technique that leverages the concept of sintering, can be used to create ceramic coatings, tiles or complex three-dimensional structures, which allows for increased versatility when engineering new devices and technologies.

“Sintering is the process by which raw materials – either powders or liquids – are converted into a ceramic material,” says Cheryl Xu, co-corresponding author of a paper on this research and a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU). “For this work, we focused on an ultrahigh temperature ceramic called hafnium carbide (HfC). Traditionally, sintering HfC requires placing the raw materials in a furnace that can reach temperatures of at least 2,200 degrees Celsius – a process that is time-consuming and energy intensive.

“Our technique is faster, easier and requires less energy.”

The new technique works by applying a 120-watt laser to the surface of a liquid polymer precursor in an inert environment, such as a vacuum chamber or a chamber filled with argon. The laser sinters the liquid, turning it into a solid ceramic. This can be used in two different ways.

First, the liquid precursor can be applied as a coating to an underlying structure, such as carbon composites used in hypersonic technologies like missiles and space exploration vehicles. The precursor can be applied to the surface of the structure and then sintered with the laser.

“Because the sintering process does not require...