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Polycarbosilane (PCS) thin films were deposited on silicon (and other) substrates and heat treated under vacuum (∼10 −6 torr) at temperatures in the range of 200°-1200°C. At temperatures in the range of 1000°-1200°C, the initially amorphous PCS films transformed to polycrystalline ␤-silicon carbide (␤-SiC). Although PCS films could be deposited at thickness up to 2 µm, the films with thicknesses >1 µm could not be transformed to SiC without extensive cracking. The resulting SiC coatings were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, glancingangle X-ray diffractometry, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, Raman spectoscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The temperature and time dependence of the amorphous-to-crystalline transition could be associated with the evolution of free carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen in the films.

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