Friction materials containing ceramic compounds were first used on select original equipment applications back in 1985.  Since then, their desirable properties have become widely recognized. Ceramic brake pads are able to handle higher brake temperatures, generate less dust and rotor wear, and provide quieter braking than traditional braking materials.

Fast forward to today, Ceramic compounds in automotive brakes are no longer used only in brake pads, but brake rotors also take advantage of their wonderful characteristics that include, reduced weight, and like ceramic pads, they can withstand higher operating temperatures, more wear and tear, and generate less noise than traditional cast iron rotors.

The term “Ceramic” applies to most  inorganic, non-metallic materials formed by heat. The most commonly encountered simple ceramics include clays used in pottery, bricks and tiles, as well as cement and glass. These single-ingredient simple ceramics tend to be very brittle, and do break easily. To make ceramics tough enough for a brake rotor, and light enough to offer the reduced-weight advantage, the part is made as a composite, in which strands of carbon fiber - that are highly resistant to stretching - are embedded in the part. The fibers are woven into the shape of a disc including the internal cooling vents, before being doused with a liquid made of carbon and silicon. That liquid is then heated carefully up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, to convert it into a very tough ceramic known as Silicon Carbide. This material is nearly as hard as Diamond. The fibers in the structure hold the material together to prevent cracking. The finished surface resembles stone.

Traditional brake rotors are made of cast iron, which is heavy, so it reduces a vehicle’s fuel efficiency.  A typical cast iron rotor weighs about four times as much as a ceramic rotor. Using ceramic rotors therefore, allow the vehicle to accelerate faster, make it more maneuverable, and reduce fuel consumption.

The process used to produce ceramic brakes is complex and time-consuming, therefore, making the brakes is expensive. Currently, they are available from OEMs, only on exotics and higher-end cars. The goal is to have them eventually trickle down  to all passenger cars, SUVs and trucks as their production costs fall.