PACVD Coatings
Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition
Ionbond™ PACVD coating technology
The PACVD process is used for coating a very broad range of conductive and non-conductive substrate materials at temperatures below 200 °C. The typical thickness is in the range of 2 – 3 µm. The coatings are amorphous in structure and contain around 70% sp3 bondings, which accounts for the high hardness of the coating (10-40 GPa).
The ideal solution for tribological systems
DLC coatings feature excellent hardness, wear and low friction properties under dry or deficient lubrication conditions. They are ideally suited for tribological systems found in engines, machines and other mechanical assemblies with sliding and rolling movements. The perfect surface finish without any post-treatment makes them ideal for high precision injection molding tools as well as for decorative purposes. DLC is chemically inert and biocompatible which allows for its application on medical components and implants.
Broad range of substrate materials
No distortion of high precision substrates
No post treatment necessary
Gaseous process for uniform coating of 3D geometries without rotation
Green technology with respect to educts, process and products
What is Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (PACVD)?
PACVD (Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition) is a vacuum based process used to deposit DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coatings, also known as ADLC (Amorphous Diamond-Like Carbon). All educts of the PACVD process are gaseous. This makes it suitable for coating 3D components uniformly, without the need for rotation as is necessary in PVD.
PACVD is also known in the market as Plasma Activated Chemical Vapour Deposition and Plasma Enhanced CVD.
Frequently asked questions on PACVD coating services
Prior to coating, substrates (tools and components) need to be free of any foreign matter, oils and grease on the surfaces that are to be coated, but also in all other areas. The cleaning process is an essential element that determines the adhesion and thus influences the performance of the coated part or tool. All parts are cleaned by Ionbond prior to coating, using a designated process. Ionbond encourages customers to discuss the optimum requirements for their substrates in order to ensure top performance.
The degree to which masking can be performed depends on the process. Masking is generally easy in case of the PVD process, which is a line of sight process, but more difficult for the PACVD and very difficult in the case of CVD.
Typical lead times of our CVD coating services usually fall within the range of 3 to 5 days. Test parts and samplings take more time as fixturing and process design is required.
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