What is a thin film?
A thin film is a coating that covers the surface of an object. The thin film thickness is generally in the order of microns or even nanometers. The coating can be made of a single pure element (i.e. gold) or could be made of an alloy of many elements. A coating is often deposited as a multilayered structure where each layer has a different composition and function. Different coatings exhibit different properties and performance depending on the environment. Plasmakote will help you identify the ideal one for your applications.
Why apply a thin film?
A thin film is used to change the surface properties of an object when it would be too expensive or technically impossible to make the object completely with a material that already had those properties. There are many reasons why you might want to change the properties of the surface of your product. For example you might want to: protect your parts from corrosion, reduce wear, make it easier to clean, make it look nicer, make it biocompatible, foodsafe and self-disinfectant. In short: Performance, Protection, Beauty.
How is the film applied?
To deposit a thin film atoms need to "fly" off from a source and pile up onto the surface of your product. This is made possible by the generation of a plasma and electromagnetic fields inside a high vacuum chamber. There are many different techniques used to make atoms "fly" depending on the desired final characteristics of the coatings. Plasmakote can offer a wide range techniques with the potential to deposit almost any coating composition on a broad list of substrate materials and shapes.