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Secondary
plasma-generation source (in addition to
traditional magnetron sources) increases ionization of
working gas and increases ion/atom ratio in the deposition
plasma. |
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Higher
plasma density increases the effectiveness of part
etching, prior to coating. This results in improved adhesion
of the coating, and enables the growth of thicker coatings
(>25 microns (0.001 in.)).
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During
EP-UBMS, part heating is increased due to more
intense plasma and also IR heating from the secondary
plasma source. But part heating can be controlled to
prevent tempering (and loss of hardness) of the substrate. |
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With
greater ion/atom ratio in plasma and induced heating,
nanostructured coatings consisting of nm-size crystals can
be produced. Examples include nanocrystalline (nc)
titanium nitride (TiN) with an amorphous silicon nitride
(Si3N4) “glue” layer. |
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Nanostructured
coatings offer significant improvements over
conventional physical vapor deposited (PVD) coatings in
terms of increased density / reduced defects, hardness,
corrosion and wear-resistance, and erosion/abrasion
resistance. |
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Capability
of growing thicker PVD coatings is essential for
operational environments (e.g., sand-abrasion / erosion) that
require longer component lifetime. |
Benefits
of Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering Technology (UBMS)
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Maintenance
of dimensional tolerance of parts after coating
(thin coatings) |
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Low-temperature
process that will not degrade substrate
properties |
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Coating
processing of non-planar shapes by coupling
magnetic fields of unbalanced magnet arrays of
adjacent
targets |
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Wide
variety of materials that can be deposited, including
metals, ceramics, cermets (ceramics & metals),
co-
deposition of solid-solutions, multilayers |
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Exceptional
adhesion, hardness, wear resistance, and
toughness (cracking resistance) of coated surfaces. |
Listed
below are data sheets with typical measured mechanical and
tribological properties of ECI-developed nanocomposite thin-film coatings. These coatings offer a unique
combination of hardness, wear resistance, toughness,
erosion-resistance and
low friction (for certain compositions). ECI has published
numerous articles in referred journals, some of which are
available in PDF format. To obtain copies of articles in
non-pdf format, please contact Engineered Coatings, Inc.
at 303-593-0588 or info@eciwear-corrosioncoatings.com.
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