Profile Coating Technology
Magnetron sputtering deposition chamber for coating of long X-ray mirrors of up to 1.5 m length
Our research in the area of coating technology focuses on the development of corrosion protection for materials used in lightweight engineering — this work falls within the ambit of the Helmholtz Programme “Advanced Engineering Materials” — and the development of the synchrotron mirrors required for investigations of engineering materials — part of the Helmholtz Programme “Large-Scale Facilities for Research with Photons, Neutrons and Ions”. The Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht employs a deposition technique known as magnetron sputtering, which makes it possible to create very precise coatings with high uniformity in thickness and distinct structural morphologies. In lightweight engineering, nano-crystalline and glassy alloys are promising for the corrosion protection. Single layer coatings and multilayer mirrors are optimised for the application at advanced research light sources.
In the early 1990s, work at Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht focused on fundamental research on nucleation, growth and interfacial reactions in non-equilibrium systems. Based upon this work, we were then able to develop reflective X-ray optical systems based on multilayer coating systems for laboratory equipment used in X-ray diffractometry and fluorescence experiments. The company INCOATEC GmbH, which was founded by former GK.SS-Forschungszentrum (now Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht) in 2002, is now commercially exploiting this development for the production of X-ray mirrors.
At present, we are developing total-reflection coatings and multilayer mirrors for the beamlines at synchrotron storage rings like PETRA III and at the European XFEL. By means of these X-ray optical systems, the photons can be guided, collimated and monochromatically filtered at a wide range of different energies. This in turn opens up new opportunities for experiments in the fields of materials and biological research
In order to expand the range of applications for magnesium alloys in lightweight engineering, we have also developed PVD-based anticorrosive coatings for use in the fields of transportation and energy. Magnesium is a highly promising material for use in lightweight engineering on account of its low density compared to conventional materials such as steel and aluminium. However, it needs to display a significantly improved resistance to corrosion before it will be possible to fully exploit its lightweight advantages in many industrial areas, especially automobile manufacture. The development of protective coatings based on PVD technology offers a promising method of either isolating magnesium from the corrosive environment by coating it as a substrate material, or by using surface reactions to make it more resistant to corrosion.
More information on the corrosion characteristics of magnesium is available here.