Technologies

What methods and technologies are used in our equipment?
What are the advantages of vacuum Cathodic Arc methods?
                  More about advantages of сathodic arc method.
What is the uniqueness of our technologies?
                  Characteristics of source of separated gas-metal plasma SPS-1.
                  Structure of our coatings and materials.
Some possibilities of technologies.
                  About low-temperature technologies.
Some features of coatings and materials. 
                  Characteristics and properties of our coatings and materials.
Technologies for your manufacture.

What methods and technologies are used in our equipment?

We use technologies of own development:

1. CALT SID technologies - Cathodic Arc Low Temperature Separated Ion Deposition - deposition of coatings from separated plasma of cathodic arc at low temperature is a new direction in plasma сathodic arc technologies. CALT SID method solves numerous problems which exist in Cathodic Arc coating. CALT SID technologies are:

• qualitatively new coatings in traditional field of application of Cathodic Arc coating - deposition of strengthening and other functional coatings on tools, parts of machines and other products;
• expansion of application and capabilities of Cathodic Arc method with high efficiency in such areas, as:
  • mechanical engineering;
  • electronics;
  • MEMS manufacturing – microelectromechanical systems and other microsystems;
  • creation of new materials:
  • and other areas;
• development of nanostructured materials and nanosystems.

2. Technologies of deposition for thick (up to 500 microns) nanostructured protective gas-tight thermo barrier coatings, working in aggressive environment at extreme temperatures. Technologies of deposition of thick coatings have the following benefits:

• increase in resource life of rocket, aviation engines and other power equipment;
• possibility of development of more powerful engines and power plants working in more rigid conditions.

Uniqueness of technologies is confirmed by corresponding patents for territories of Russia, Europe and the USA. Technologies have passed approbation and are used at the enterprises of Russia, France, Germany, Israel, China and other countries.

What the advantages are of vacuum Cathodic Arc methods?

Vacuum сathodic arc method of coating deposition (ARC-PVD deposition) is one of ionic-plasma methods, being unique tool for nanotechnologies for creation of nanodimensional structures, coatings and materials, “insert” of concrete atoms from ionic and plasma beams in the set place of a lattice of solid body. We “build” unique materials and coatings with unique properties, including materials which cannot be received with other methods.

Advantages of vacuum electric arc technologies in comparison with other ionic-plasma technologies are:

• possibility of making plasma beams on a wide range of materials;
• high density of plasma beams and high rates of coating deposition and formation of materials;
• controllability of plasma beams – possibility to form structure and properties of coatings and materials.
  (Read more about advantages of сathodic arc method.)

What is the uniqueness of our technologies?

Uniqueness of our technologies in comparison with other сathodic arc technologies is that we create coatings and materials:

• with homogeneous characteristics without damages by microparticles;
• with the set parity of elements both solid, and gas;
• with the set structure;
• nanostructured - with the characteristic size of elements of structure in nanometers.
  (Read more about structure of our coatings. )

Controllable technological process. Operating parameters of plasma source:

• etching of surface with high rate – up to 10 µ/hr;
• formation diffusion near-surface a layer - for example, azotizing;
• deposition of coatings and formation of materials with high rates – up to 40 µ/hr

Uniqueness of our technologies is due to SPS-1 source of own development (Separated Plasma Source) – industrial wide-aperture high-current сathodic arc source of separated gas-metal plasma on the basis of ions of material of cathode and working gas. The source provides a plasma beam:

• cleaned from micro-and neutral particles;
• with high degree of ionisation both solid, and gas components (working gas is poorly ionized in traditional сathodic arc technology);
• with controllable working gas and metal components.
  (Read more about technological characteristics of SPS-1 source.)

Our technologies solve numerous problems which exist in Cathodic Arc coating.

We possess the unique tool for creation nanostructured coatings, materials and nanosystems with unique properties.

Some capabilities of technologies:

• creation of plasma beam pure of microparticles on a basis concerning fusible elements, for example such as Al, Sn and others;
• creation multicomponent nanostructured coatings and materials, for example, such as TiAlN, AlTiN, TiAlCrN, Al₂O₃, ZrMoN etc. with use of monometallic cathodes;
• creation of arbitrarily given concentration of elements in coatings and materials;
• creation of structures of coatings and materials which cannot be received with traditional metallurgical methods, for example ZrMoN;
• creation of multilayered coatings and materials, including discrete layers with nanodimensional thickness;
• full control of technological process. We can archive the following operating parameters:
  • etching of substrate surface with high rates up to 10 µ/hr – mode of inert gas plasma;
  • formation of diffusion near-surface layer – mode of reactionary gas plasma;
  • deposition of coatings and formation of materials with high rates up to µ/hr – mode of solid or gas-metal plasma;
• creation of the combined layers in one work cycle: diffusion underlayer+coating (for example, azotizing+coating);
• creation of coatings and materials at low temperatures that considerably expands a category of work-in-process products, types of materials and coatings. (Read more about low-temperature technologies.)

Some features of coatings and materials:

• high uniformity without droplet of microparticles;
• high cleanliness of a surface of the coatings, practically corresponding to cleanliness of a surface of initial substrate - high frictional properties;
• nanodimensional structure;
• high dispersion condition, high plasticity at high hardness and high internal compressing pressure – high wear-resistant properties of coatings;
• coatings keep geometry of sharp product edges (common technologies lead to a rounding off of edges);
• absence of pores and micro inclusions – high corrosion resistance;
• high adhesion between a coatings and a substrate - is provided by effective ionic etching of a surface.
  (Read more about characteristics of coatings.)

Effective ionic etching of surface reduces requirements to preliminary preparation and degreasing of products. It allows to use more simple technologies of cleaning of products in usual washing-up liquids without application of poisonous, combustible and ecologically dirty substances.

Technologies for your manufacture.

Sets of working technologies on the basis of core technologies are developed for:

• creation of materials and coatings with required properties;
• for work with concrete products.

Read about some our working technologies.

How can you understand – whether our technologies are necessary to your plant and whether they will be of use? Contact us right now. Addressing some questions, we will understand specificity of your tasks and offer necessary decision. The result will be a new quality of your production.