Problems of Ion-plasma Technologies Development and Implementation SRL

Main Focuses

• Investigating the plasma production process, the cathodic vacuum-arc discharge process
• Investigating the properties of thin coatings and modified surfaces, physical processes of vacuum-arc coating formation;
• Expansion and improvement of plasma sources;
• Developing new equipment and techniques for ion-plasma modification of surfaces and coating application;
• Applying coatings on articles used in various industry sectors, i.e. metalworking production, micromechanics and medicine.

Current Projects

• Developing techniques for plasma production and conducting integrated study of physical and mechanical properties of thin and nanostructural hard vacuum-arc coatings;
• Follow on development of production equipment for coating application;
• Conducting research and development of new methods of characterization of nanoscale diamond-like carbon coatings used in various techniques of conduction for scanning probe microscopy (SPM);
• Investigation of heat treating influence on structure and properties of nanoscale nanostructured carbon coatings;
• Developing the methods of production of hard coating based on carbon components with enhanced temperature resistance;
• Developing the technique for applying biocompatible nanoscale carbon coating on articles of medical purpose;
• Developing an advanced prototype impulsive carbon plasma source;
• Developing a pilot prototype special-purpose vacuum nanoscale coating equipment;
• Fundamental studies of the nanostructured state and properties of coatings based on an amorphous carbon matrix doped with gold and silver, obtained by pulsed vacuum-arc and magnetron methods.

The Laboratory’s Commercializable Projects

• Patent-protected technology for production of super hard nanoscale coatings for the use on the articles for micromechanics, in particular on cantilevers of scanning probe microscopes;
• Technology for applying carbon coatings on cutting tools.