Different types of thin film coatings are used for several purposes in different applications including opto-electronics, displays, semiconductors, and medical equipment. Some of them are increasingly becoming popular in various industries. To help you learn about most commonly used coatings, we have decided to share some of the common coatings available in the market. Let’s take a quick look.
Metal Oxide Thin Film Coating
Both metals and oxides such as Au, Ag, Ti, Cr, In, SrTiO3, Al:ZnO, ZnO, etc. are widely used in the industry for coating purposes.
Metal coatings are applied to metals for several reasons – aesthetic purposes, sturdiness, strength, durability, conductivity, and protection against corrosion and wear and tear. But, not all metals are coated with metals. Some are also coated with oxides.
Oxide coating is a protective film obtained by the oxidation of the surface of metal products. It also helps in safeguarding from corrosion, used for decorative purposes and sometimes, as electrical insulation. Since these oxides contain one or more metals, this coating is also known as metal oxide thin film coating.
AR/HR Thin Film Coating
There are two coatings which are applied to alter the way an optic element behaves under different light conditions. The first one is Anti-Reflective Coating that increases the transmission of light so that surface reflection can be reduced. They are generally used for lenses, displays, eyeglasses, camera lenses and solar cells as well.
The second one is High Reflectivity Coating. It decreases the transmission of light to provide high surface reflectance. Such coatings reflect most or all light waves of a given wavelength range and can be specified to provide the right amount of transmission for specific applications such as an optical mirror on a laser.
DLC Coatings
Diamond-Like Carbon coatings help in attaining the same beneficial properties that are of a diamond such as hardness, chemical resistance, scratch resistance, lubricity, high thermal conductivity, high electrical resistivity, etc. They are mostly used to increase the durability and lifespan of end-use device or product. Their major applications are microelectronics, medical devices, automotive components, sensors, displays, and flexible semiconductors.
TCO coatings
TCO stands for Transparent Conductive Oxide which is a kind of organic transparent conductive film used in electronics. Primarily used in opto-electronics and display space, it is electrically conductive and transparent so that it can be easily used for photovoltaics, LCDs, OLEDs, and touchscreens.
Biocompatible Hard Coatings
As the name implies, they are suitable for use in the medical field to protect implanted devices and improve health outcomes. Such coatings are applied on artificial limbs, joints, biosensors, and heart implants among other applications. They help in protecting the human body and its tissue from contamination and act as a shield from exposure to proteins, glucose, and cell adhesion. In doing so, they elevate the lifespan of these implants and similar devices.
Summary
By now, you may have noticed that every coating is used for different purposes. The metal oxide thin film coating is used for protecting metallic products from corrosion or enhancing their aesthetics, AR/HR coating is suitable for optical components, DLC coatingres a used for increasing the lifetime of certain devices, TCO coatings are ideal for opto-electronics products and biocompatible hard coatings are perfect for protecting implants.