Plasma Spray Coating

• High Density
• High Purity
• Near net shape deposition
• High melting temperature material
• Low or high velocity
• Controlled atmosphere
• Vacuum to positive pressure

Sputtering and X-Ray Targets

Induction plasma spray coating technology is used for manufacturing or rebuilding critical components requiring a high-quality coating, such as sputtering or X-Ray targets.

Thees targets have long been manufactured through the use of different powder metallurgical techniques to form a target plate made of high purity material which is subsequently mounted on a target backing material for proper heat management under final operating conditions. The technique is relatively tedious and requires a number of steps for powder preparation and densification, followed by powder compaction at room temperature and subsequent sintering to the required high density material. In certain cases, room temperature compaction is not sufficient to achieve the required density of the final product. In such cases, it is necessary to resort to the considerably more complex and expensive hot iso-static pressing (HIP) sintering techniques.

Tekna’s unique induction plasma patent pending technology is based on the in-flight plasma melting of the powder material to be used for the production of the sputtering target in an inductively coupled radio frequency plasma torch followed by the deposition of the molten material droplets at high temperature to achieve the thickness and apparent density required by the industry. The technique can be applied to a wide range of sputtering and X-ray target materials including metals, such as Ti, Ni, Al, Cu, Ag, Palladium, refractory metals such as tungsten, tantalum, & molybdenum, other alloys such as Fe/Co & Ni/Co, and intermetallics such as MoSi₂.

Fuel Cells

SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology has great potential for economic, efficient, and clean power generation. The manufacture of SOFC electrodes (cathode and anode), which requires a highly porous coating structure, has been demonstrated using induction plasma spraying (IPS) technology. Compared to traditional multi-steps of the screen printing technology, IPS has the  benefit of using a clean, controllable, and large volume, heat source with rapid quenching and a controlled atmosphere. The feedstock can be varied from solids to liquids to gas phases.

Aerospace

Near net shape deposition by induction plasma spray coating technology can be used for achieving high density, high purity coatings, and near net shape parts for high performance components. Fabrication using traditional techniques can be very costly due to machining scrap generated from exotic materials or contaminants.  These can be reduced considerably using near net shape induction plasma spray coating technology.

Biomedical

Bio materials must be compatible with the body, and purity is one of the major concerns in this field. Induction plasma spray coating of bio-compatible material on pieces such as hip joints is the best solution for purity issues as it is a contamination free process.

Fiber Optics

Induction plasma technology is used for the glazing and surface polishing of glass. The high temperature plasma jet can rapidly melt the surface of the glass and smooth the surface.
 

Preform etching and over-cladding of preforms can be achieved using Tekna’s unique patented induction plasma technology. The vapor axial deposition provides a way of manufacturing over-cladded preforms less expensively than current technology based on synthetic tube sleeving.