New coatings on metal sheets and strips produced using EB PVD technologies

EB PVD coatings on large metal sheets and metal strips are discussed and used since many years. Recently developed plasma activated technologies opened a fresh ground to think about new applications. The new coatings produced by EB PVD represent an outstanding supplement to existing products. lt could be verified that the deposition cost are low enough in comparison to competitive technologies. Dense Ti layers are produced with high deposition rates up to 1000 nm/s by EB evaporation in combination with an effective plasma activation by a spotless arc (SAD process). The corrosion resistance of the coatings deposited with SAD process and an additional bias voltage can be drastically improved in comparison to a deposition without plasma activation. Aluminum oxide coatings were deposited by reactive EB evaporation at deposition rates between 50 and 100 nm/s. The influence of the plasma activation by hollow cathode low-voltage electron beam (HAD process) on the structure and properties of Al(2)O(3) coatings have been investigated. lt could be shown that the coatings deposited with HAD process have a drastically increased hardness, a higher density and an improved chemical stability in comparison to the coatings deposited without plasma activation. The stone-blasting resistance of galvanized steel sheets can be improved with simultaneously maintained good formability by a thin Fe layer. The Fe layer is deposited by high rate EB evaporation. Via a subsequent annealing process an intermetallic compound top layer occurs