Coating Research and Development

At Interlayer, we view every project with fresh eyes. To us, every device has a unique combination of materials, shapes, desired functionality, and price point.

 

Working closely with you, we will select the most suitable coating. If it’s a well-known, fully characterized coating solution, that’s great. However, what sets us apart is that, when necessary, we will develop a custom coating that is tuned to your requirements.

​

Here is a quick outline of how we would work with you during the coating development process:

​

To start, we will learn about your part and the properties that you are seeking to achieve, such as enhanced lubricity, nonstick performance, or a functionalized surface.

 

Importantly, we will look to determine your detailed technical and financial requirements, what we think of as metrics for success, things like coefficient of friction, surface energy, water contact angle, thickness, and piece price target. If at first you don't know exactly what you are looking for (perhaps because you are in an early exploratory R&D phase), we are glad to advise on some things to consider based on our experience.

 

We will work with you to determine the test methods to use for proof-of-concept, optimization, validation, and production.

​

Depending on your specific parts and requirements, we will modify an existing coating protocol or create a new one. We optimize the coating and coating process for each device. Even when a commonly used coating is suited for your project, we will tailor it for your specific part and intended use. Sometimes that will be as straightforward as taking into account how the part's geometry affects the plasma.

 

If necessary, we will perform more extensive R&D to create a custom coating with a novel combination of chemistry and structure.

 

When necessary, we will advise you on things that are unique to plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), such as how fixture design, plasma chamber design, and electrode design affect the resultant coating.

​

If necessary, we will design and build custom fixtures or a custom plasma chamber. For many kinds of parts, though, standard trays in standard chambers will work just fine.

 

During coating development, we will do all necessary testing, typically in house.

 

We will create and share relevant data. For example, the graph below shows coating thickness (nm) vs cycle time (min) for each of two coating layers. When developing an all-new coating or adapting a well-known coating for use on a specific device, we will perform model tests to determine rate constants for coating deposition. By sharing this kind of data with you, we will give you an early indication of how a particular coating at your desired coating thickness will shake out in terms of cycle times. This will help you understand the unit economics based on potential batch sizes.