Non-toxic process for depositing highly-dense, corrosion-resistant aluminum on complex geometry components

Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation (AASC) proposes dry, non-toxic, plasma-based hybrid energetic ion deposition and implantation process to prepare highly-dense, corrosion-resistant aluminum on complex geometry aircraft components. By replacing electroplated Low Hydrogen Embrittlement cadmium (LHE-Cd), a highly toxic metal and known carcinogen with serious ES&H issues, AASC’s non-toxic process can reduce compliance costs associated with mounting regulatory burdens and reduce the scope of potential legal liabilities faced by today’s Navy. Ion vapor deposition (IVD) and sputtered aluminum, currently used as LHE-Cd replacements, are low energy PVD methods that suffer from columnar microstructures with lower grain boundary density that provide fast diffusion pathways for the anions and cations in corrosion reactions. Burnishing, peening or bead blasting post-processing steps are required to achieve full density, adding cost and reducing throughput. Comparatively, AASC’s hybrid energetic ion deposition and implantation process collapse voids, breaks up columnar microstructures, and produces uniformly dense aluminum layers that will offer superior corrosion performance and avoid post-deposition steps. Further, the use of cathodic arc plasma sources, relative to evaporative (IVD) or sputtering sources, enables much higher rates of deposition.