Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS
Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS

PVD Coatings

PVD (physical vapor deposition) processes allow the deposition of high-quality tribological and functional layers in the range of thicknesses from a few nanometers to several tens of micrometers. IWS facilities include various technologies such as high-rate evaporation and highly activated plasma processes as ell as their combinations. A particular focus is placed on the extensive use of arc discharges as the most effective source of energetic vapor jets.

 

Highlight

Hard coatings with > 100 microns thickness

These layers are suitable for the protection of extremely stressed surfaces of tools and components. The image shows the cross section of a 130 micron thick layer of hard material on Al-Cr-Si-Ti-N-base, which was prepared by the arc process.

Hard coatings with > 100 microns thickness
 

Technologies

The processes for physical vapor deposition are very suitable for the fabrication of thin layers made of different materials. We research on the further development of this technology to open up new applications and to improve the process reliability and efficiency.

 

Components

The implementation of new technologies usually requires investing in new technical equipment. In many cases it is sufficient to purchase one or more key components - and the existing plant technology is ready for a new operation. We develop and manufacture selected components to customer specifications.

 

Applications

 

Equipment

At the IWS we have many different facilities at our deposal for arc coating- (classical dc arc, pulsed arc), for electron beam coating- and sputtering processes for research and development projects as well as for sample- and small-scale coatings. Thus, we can realize a variety of coating applications.

Publications

 

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