Non-stick Coating for Field Cookware

"In collaboration with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Facilities,HY-Tech Research has developed a unique technology for the deposition ofthin films of boron, a high-temperature materialwith excellent hardness and lubricity properties. Since the potential foreconomically depositing pure boron films did not previously exist, HY-Techhas undertaking the mission to promote the benefits of this product tovarious applications. This solicitation provides an ideal application for boronfilms, because it would benefit from the metallurgical properties as well as fromthe chemical inertness of these coatings. The deposition technique developed byHY-Tech is based on the vacuum arc concept, which is the basis for the mosteconomical deposition systems for metallurgical coatings. The vacuum arc generatesits material from a solid source. This is important in the case of boron, sincemost gaseous precursors are biologically hazardous. All the material is depositedin an ionized form, which allows for good control of the energies, which leads togood film adherence to the substrate. A preliminary calculation shows that theinjestion limit for boron exceeds the total material that would be found in thecoating. Therefore, no problems are anticipated in this area. Good adherence toaluminum alloys has already been seen for thin (<1micron) coatings. The goal ofPhase I will be to demonstrate thick (1-2micron) coatings on 6061 Al which willwithstand the rigor