The fibre-matrix interfacial zone formed during the isothermal/isobaric chemical vapour infiltration processing of SiC fibres (ex-polycarbosilane)/boron nitride/SiC matrix composites has been analysed by TEM/electron energy loss spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. In the composites, the boron nitride interphase (deposited from BF3-NH3) is made of turbostratic boron nitride, almost stoichiometric but containing some oxygen (less than 5 at %). The boron nitride layer stacks are randomly orientated except in the very vicinity of the fibre surface where they lie almost parallel to the substrate. The long chemical vapour infiltration treatment at 1000-degrees-C used to infiltrate the SiC matrix acts as an annealing treatment for the metastable ex-polycarbosilane fibres which gives rise to the growth of an SiO2/carbon amorphous double layer at the boron nitride/fibre interface. Deflection of microcracks arising from the failure of the brittle SiC-matrix occurs at the boron nitride/SiO2 interface considered to be the weaker link in the matrix/boron nitride interphase/SiO2/carbon/fibre sequence. It is suggested that the combination of the boron nitride layered interphase and SiO2/carbon fibre decomposition products might play an important role in determining the propagation path of microcracks in the fibre/matrix interfacial zones and could be responsible, at least to some extent, for the non-brittle behaviour of such composites.
