Partners overview
P1 (Coordinator): Uppsala University, Department of Engineering Sciences (UU) has a long track record in plasma deposition techniques and modelling of the deposition processes. In recent years, much of the research effort has been devoted to the HiPIMS technologies. Because DLC coatings present a big part of the market for thin films, TANDEM presents an opportunity to expand the team effort into a very important technological field. Ionization of carbon, moreover, presents an exciting scientific challenge and an attractive research topic.
UU is chiefly responsible for the fundamental development of the Ne-HiPIMS process with optimized substrate biasing, and understanding the growth of DLC and stress evolution mechanisms.
P2: Ionautics (ION)
seeks to commercialize IPR related to the company’s patented highly ionized carbon HiPIMS process. As a technology supplier, Ionautics needs to demonstrate the potential of this new technology and show the performance of coatings on selected components in collaboration with end users. TANDEM consortium provides access to necessary know-how and infrastructure.
ION is responsible for the development of the HiPIMS hardware platform. The company will also manage the technology transfer and verification of the processes developed by RTDs and coatings synthesized by other partners, which will include IPR identification and exploitation.
P3: National Institute for Optoelectronics, RECAST department (NIO)
will benefit from the scientific collaboration with the partners experienced in HiPIMS technology and DLC coatings. The research activities on reactive HiPIMS deposition of DLC, coupled with plasma diagnostics will enable development of new applications for high-tech coatings.
NIO is responsible for the development of reactive HiPIMS process, coatings development and characterization, implementation of the deposition technologies at industrial manufacturing scale, in close collaboration with the two SME (MGM and ION).
P4: SC MgM Star Construct SRL (MGM)
will obtain access to the new HiPIMS technology as well as the pool of knowledge on the DLC coatings. It will add a new coating technology to the existing portfolio and further benefit from contacts with potential clients on the European markets (Sweden, Portugal).
MGM is responsible for the validation of technology by coatings deposition in large industrial batch units of industrial use, as well as conducting specific industrial tests on coated samples.
P5: University of Coimbra (UC)
has an extensive know-how in the area of classical DLC coatings and tribology of thin films. Access to the new coating solution offers an opportunity to address challenges where the existing coatings are not suitable and develop new tribological systems. UC will research the high temperature tribology of hard DLCs enabled in TANDEM.
UC is in charge of adhesion engineering, structural, morphological and tribological characterization of the stress-free hard DLC coatings, including hardness, wear and friction coefficient measurements.
P6: Linköping University (LiU)
is recognized for work on HiPIMS physics related to the fundamental HiPIMS. LiU has proposed the Ne-HiPIMS approach. In frame of TANDEM, this work may be expanded and demonstrated on an industrial scale.
LiU is in charge of plasma and HiPIMS physics related to the fundamental HiPIMS-DLC process development, time-resolved plasma characterization to identify optimal process conditions.
