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Thin Film Metallic Coatings Background:
The process involves depositing
essentially any thin film metal coating on any metallic substrate using
a novel Metal Coating (MeC) technology.
An exhaustive search of previous art has not revealed any published or
patented data that resemble the metal coating process. The novel MeC process was
developed by SPECMAT, Inc using its own funds, and thus far no other
party is involved or has any detailed knowledge of this process.
Proof-of-Concept:
The metal coatings process has demonstrated ultra-low cost and simplicity when
compared to traditional technologies. The films (measuring up to 20
microns thick, for now) are very uniform, and can be applied on any
oddly shaped metallic object. Through the use of the metal coating process,
several
thin metallic films have been deposited on
various metallic substrates. Our initial proof-of-concept selection include thin films of
Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Cerium (Ce), Indium (In), Bismuth (Bi), Selenium
(Se), Molybdenum (Mo), Cobalt (Co), Titanium (Ti), Vanadium (V), Barium
(Ba), Tin (Sn), and Copper (Cu) deposited on steel, and copper
substrates. Based on our preliminary results, using the metal coating technique,
essentially any single metallic film or two or more component metallic
alloys can be deposited on any metallic substrate.
Conventional Thin Film Metalic Coatings Techniques:
Usually, metallic coatings are deposited using a number of techniques
including electroplating, electroless plating, spraying, hot dipping,
chemical vapor deposition and ion vapor deposition. For various
applications alternative metal deposition methods are under development
and will replaced some of techniques above, and may play a greater role
in metal coating in the future.
Owing to its low cost, our novel metal
coating technique, once further developed,
stands an excellent chance to compete with traditional metal coating
techniques for a large number of metal coating applications, especially
in the area of amorphous thin film metallic alloys.
Amorphous alloys form a structure very different from crystalline
alloys. In the amorphous structure, atoms are randomly placed in a
continuous coating, obviating the corrosion-path grain boundaries. The
absence of these defects in amorphous metals leads to the intrinsic
properties of amorphous alloys. The lack of dislocations leads to good
wear resistance to abrasive particles and metal-to-metal contact and non
work-hardening. The absence of dislocations and the lack of boundaries
allow for a low friction coefficient, near theoretical strength (and
hardness), and outstanding resistance to cavitation. The lack of
boundaries improves the resistance to corrosion and resistance to
reactions (such as oxidation and sulfidation) at elevated temperatures.
A large variety of two or more component metallic alloys can be
deposited at comparatively low cost using the metal coating technique for a wide
range of potential applications.
Potential Applications:
MeC applications are nearly unlimited: aircraft, automotive, brewing,
chemical, defense, food processing, glassware, metallurgy, paper,
petrochemical, plastics, power, printing, steel, and textile.
The metallic thin films and alloys deposited on metallic substrates
using the novel metal coatings process have a wide range of potential applications
from:
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surface passivation of metallic surfaces (e.g., car production), prior
to application of paints;
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finished industrial, and consumer goods metallic products;
-
wear and corrosion resistant coatings for aerospace, oil, gas and
chemical engineering applications;
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exotic applications such as coatings for Dielectric, Piezoelectric and
Ferroelectric sensors applications, thin film semiconductors (e.g.
CdTe, CuInSe2, BiTe, BiSe), and superconductors (e,g, Y-Bi-Cu-O, and
Y-Ba-Cu-O) applications.
Product Development:
SPECMAT has recently started its product development stage. Up until
now, our attention has been focused on the low-cost thin film single
metal and metallic alloys based on Bi, which have a large area of
potential applications, as well as a low-cost technique to produce Bi
Nano-powders.
Seeking Partnerships:
SPECMAT, Inc. is a start-up Ohio technology company, with limited human
and financial resources. SPECMAT is actively seeking partnerships and
collaborations to accelerate the development and commercialization of
its Novel Metal Coatings (MeC) technology.
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