Large Area Filtered Arc Deposition of Carbon and Boron Based Hard Coatings--UES, Inc., 4401 Dayton-Xenia Road, Dayton, OH 45432-1805; 937-426-6900
Dr. Rabi S. Bhattacharya, Principal Investigator
Mr. Francis F. Williams, Jr., Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-99ER82911
Amount: $749,934

Hard, thin, wear resistant coatings can play a vi-tal role in many engineering applications. Many such coatings have been developed over the years in the laboratory by using various plasma-based techniques. However, some of these techniques are not easily scalable for applications on actual engineering components. This project will utilize a large area filtered arc deposition (LAFAD) technique to develop carbon and boron based hard coatings for engineering applications. The filtered arc technique allows deposition of droplet-free smooth coatings by deflecting the plasma flow in a rectangular electromagnetic filter. The advanced filter design utilized in this equipment provide large area deposition ranging from about 250 mm in width to heights on the order of 300 mm to 2 m or more. In Phase I, a number of coatings containing boron and carbon were developed that showed hardness in the range 40 to 65 GPa. The boron containing coatings were TiB₂ and TiB_xN_y, whereas the carbon containing coatings were diamond like carbon and nanocrystalline TiC/C. The Phase II project will: (1) continue the development initiated in Phase I through optimization of the coating process for consistent quality with respect to hardness, adhesion, stress and wear resistance, (2) evaluate for machining of steel and aluminum-silicon alloys, (3) evaluate for corrosion resistance against molten aluminum for die casting dies

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The new technology will significantly improve industrial productivity in machining and die casting, reduce the environmental costs of disposal and fossil energy usage, and provide advanced deposition and equipment technology for commercial opportunities in applications such as biomedicine and electronics.

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