Electric conducting glass-carbon-composites

Electrical conducting composites can be processed by cold pressing and atmospheric sintering, hot pressing and park plasma sintering (SPS) from powder mixtures of glasses and carbon phases (Carbon black, graphite, CNT). The specific resistivity is adjusted by type and content of the carbon phase, particle size distribution of involved materials as well as the dimensions and the shape of processed parts. The sintered parts can be coated and contacted by the galvanic processes (Ni, Cu, Ag), flame spaying or also sputtered. Insulating and protective housings for example have been realized by glass layers. Except the metallized contact layers the sintered composites are essentially free of metallic components what in turn makes them cheap and light weight. Designated applications are power, impulse and damping resistors. Also the development of volume heating elements with a high degree of freedom with respect to their shape and dimensions is aimed.