Columnar coating grain size 40-50 nanometers x50,000

• PVD coatings alone without substrate support are not the solution since most times they are laid down in a crystalline columnar matrix, which can be prone to cracking failure.

• Openings between the crystal structure of the coating provide direct pathways to the steel below unless a matrix of coatings is applied.  Unfortunately this is an expensive way to solve the substrate problem and difficult to find commercial availability.

• As die tensile stresses build, these openings expand providing direct unprotected pathways to the substrate material.  If the substrate is not protected, cracks develop causing the coating to also fail.   Click here for more on the solder mechanism.
   

• Our substrate of TherMaLLifeÒ creates, in addition to a hard diffused layer, a compound ceramic layer that prevents the aluminum and iron from interacting.  This phenomenon was studied by Case Western University.
  Click the right arrow above for the results of this test.