Applying PVD coatings to various products can add value by improving their appearance, performance, or both. The driving force for using PVD coatings is technical and/or economic limitations to manufacturing components entirely of a single material with all desired...
Acronyms abound for vacuum deposition processes. That’s mainly because the names tend to be descriptive and, therefore, very long. Still, a fair amount of confusion exists even when names are fully spelled out. PECVD is one such case. So, what is PECVD, and how do...
The term “DLC” (diamond-like carbon) describes carbon-based coatings containing bonding characteristics of the two naturally existing (allotropic) forms of carbon: diamond and graphite. DLCs combine properties such as hardness and low coefficient of friction that...
Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a general term used to describe several thin-film coating processes. Evaporation, sputter deposition, electron-beam evaporation, ion beam, pulsed laser, and cathodic arc are examples of PVD processes, with cathodic arc deposition and...