The purpose of this research is to investigate layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBLSA) as a non-line-of-sight coating process for producing a dense and uniform ceramic layer onto intricate geometrical surface elements of high-temperature turbine components such as Si₃N₄ in order to improve the environmental stability of these materials for use in advanced gas turbines.  The key concept behind our coating approach is to electrostatically charge the component surface with polyelectrolyte (PE) ions, which can be used to promote the self-assembly of a single layer of ceramic particles onto the component surface.  In this study, the substrate surface is electrostatically charged by employing multilayered PE, which are used:  (1) as “electrostatic glue” to assemble a single layer of ceramic particles onto the substrate surface at a time and (2) to provide a layer-by-layer mechanism for controlling thickness and coverage uniformity.  We fabricated a thin and dense environmental barrier coating (EBC) that is designed to protect Si₃N₄ from surface recession caused by Si(OH)₄ formation and volatilization in the high temperature environment.  The Yb₂SiO₅ ceramic particle was used as a starting material in this work.  Dynamic laser scattering (DLS) was used to determine the average diameter of Yb₂SiO₅ to be ~2 µm and its ζ-potential to be -13 mV.  The charged monosilicate particles were electrostatically attracted and assembled to the Si₃N₄ whose top surface was pretreated with positively charged PE ions.  Subsequently, the assembled monosilicate particles were sintered to produce a micrometer-thick Yb₂SiO₅ layer.  By comparing the assembly characteristics observed with the monosilicate particles with those observed for model SiO₂ particles, we identified key particle criteria and processing parameters that control the morphological quality of the assembled structures for our coating applications.