ADVANCED SEAL MATERIALS BY ION BEAM ENHANCED DEPOSITION

THE USE OF ION BEAMS AS A MEANS OF ENHANCING THE PROPERTIES OF DEPOSITED THIN FILMS HAS ATTRACTED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGETICALLY-ENHANCED ION DEPOSITION TECHNIQUES IS EXPECTEDTO RESULT IN A NEW GENERATION OF EXOTIC COATINGS WITH SUPERIOR ADHESION, NEAR-THEORETICAL DENSITIES, VERY HIGH HARDNESS, AND, AT THE SAME TIME, CAPABLE OF BEING DEPOSITED AT LOW TEMPERATURE. SPIRE CORPORATION PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A ION BEAM ENHANCED DEPOSITION TECHNIQUE FOR CREATION OF A SUPER ADHERENT HARD COATING OF SI3N4. IN THIS APPROACH A THIN LAYER OF MATERIAL(E.G., SI) IS SPUTTERED ONTO A SURFACE AND CONCURENTLY BOMBARDED WITH A STEADY BEAM OF IONS (E.G. NITROGEN). COATINGS PRODUCED BY THIS NOVEL TECHNIQUE PROMISE SUPERIOR WEAR RESISTANCE AND ADHESION AT LOW PROCESSING TEMPERATURES THUS AVOIDING DISTORTION OF PRECISION RCE COMPONENTS.