Studies of the spreading kinetics of molten metals on ceramic substrates provide valuable informationabout the processes determining the interaction between these two materials. Based on experimental andtheoretical works, two determining wetting types have been proposed for a variety of high-temperaturesystems – the reaction limited wetting and the diffusion-limited wetting. In the scope of this contributionan AgCuTi–SiC-system is investigated, which, despite of its high relevance for joining applications, hasnot yet gained much attention in fundamental works.The experiments were carried out on a heating stage placed in a large-chamber SEM. This novel method,allows high-resolution imaging and a precise observation of the changes of the liquid drop. Images takenevery 5 s were used to measure the wetted surface as a function of time at temperatures between 830and 890◦C.The AgCuTi-melt exhibits different spreading stages during the wetting process. It was shown that, atthe beginning of the wetting, the spreading kinetics is determined by the reaction rate at the triple line.After reaching a distinct temperature-dependent angle, the titanium diffusion becomes the main limitingfactor.© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.∗