PVD Coatings

PVD coatings are generally divided into two sub divisions, "hard" ceramic coatings and low friction coatings.

Hard ceramic coatings
Hard ceramic coatings are usually carbides, nitrides, borides and silicides of the IVth, Vth and VIth groups of the periodic table.

The most common ceramic coatings available are TiN, CrN, TiCN, and TiAlN. The properties of these ceramic coatings have been improved by the addition of other elements such as vanadium, yttrium, chromium etc. and the development of multilayers and nanocomposite coatings. To learn more about these ceramic coatings, multilayers and nanocomposites click the links, however if you have a particular question please do not hesitate to ask.

Low friction coatings
Attention recently has focused on the development of hard, wear resistant, low friction coatings such as Graphit-iC™, MoST™ and Dymon-iC™, with the automotive industry again the driving force. These low friction coatings reduce energy losses due to friction as their friction coefficients are lower than that achieved using oil lubrication. The low friction coatings are also used to protect alloys such as Ti6Al4V. Click the links to find out more.