SYSTEMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF CUSTOMIZED CVD COATINGS

To a great extent coatings for structural applications have been devel oped by a combination of insight and empiricism. This approach has fai led to provide a scientific and systematic base for future design and development of new and/or improved coatings. The difficulty arises fro m the innumerable process and structural parameters that need to be un derstood and controlled accurately. Therefore, it is essential that fu ture improvements or development of novel coatings take a multidiscipl inary approach using fundamental principles related to equilibrium the rmodynamics and process kinetics. Discussion is centered on the utiliz ation of such an approach to formulate concepts that can aid in the de sign and development of tailored coatings. Specific examples of severa l coating systems currently under development are discussed. The inten t is to show that the total solution to the systematic development of customized coatings requires a combination of both fundamental analysi s and a pragmatic process optimization approach.