Challenges Upon Reactive Plasma Spray Nitriding: Al Powders and Fabrication of AlN Coatings as a Case Study

Abstract

Reactive plasma spraying (RPS) is a promising technology for the in situ formation of several ceramic coatings. The focus of this paper is to summarize the state of our current knowledge about the RPS process and using the nitriding of Al particles and the fabrication of aluminum nitride coatings, as a case study. The aspects and challenges in this process such as the influence of the plasma power, in-flight time, particle size, nitriding mechanism, splat morphology, in-flight particle diagnostics, N2 plasma gas, and the feeding rate on the RPS process are analyzed and discussed.