Innovative fabrication pathways for ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites: Progress, properties enhancements and future perspectives

Ultra-High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites (UHTCMCs) stand at the frontier of materials science, offering unparalleled resilience in extreme environments, such as aerospace propulsion, hypersonic vehicles, and advanced nuclear systems. The thermal stability, oxidation resistance, and mechanical durability of UHTCMCs—composed of refractory carbides, borides, and nitrides—are superior to those of conventional ceramics and composites. Recent innovations in fabrication techniques have shown promising results in improving the density, mechanical integrity, oxidation resistance, and uniform microstructures of UHTCMCs. However, challenges like incomplete densification, porosity, and thermal shock limitations still impede their broader application. This review explores the progression of UHTCMC fabrication, focusing on both traditional and hybrid techniques and evaluating their respective advantages and shortcomings. This work also focuses on how little changes in these methods have resulted in complicated multi-phase microstructures, which show a huge improvement in customizing the outstanding performance of UHTCMCs in harsh conditions. The discourse extends to identifying the suitable fabrication methods for meticulous applications and the ongoing efforts to overcome existing challenges in the world.