Introduction

“Hard-coating” is always a hot topic in surface enhancement because all designers want their product to be more robust and durable. Currently, manufacturers have several hard-coating methods, such as through Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) & Silicon Nitride (SiN). However, these methods have their drawbacks, and they can only be applied on particular products due to their non-transparency and huge capital investment. Sapphire is the second hardest transparency material in the world. Using sapphire film directly applied as cover glass can provide excellent protection from being scratched, but they are expensive, heavy, very brittle and difficult for mass-production.

Therefore, a HKBU (Baptist University) professor invented a unique sapphire thin-film coating by using the PVD technique and the PVD facility is well established in the current industry. Besides, the sapphire thin-film coating is highly transparent and does not affect the original properties and aesthetic of the substrate after the deposition processes.

KEY FEATURES:

• Anti-Scratch durable coating.
• Applicable on multitude of substrate materials, including flexible plastics.
• High optical transmission
• Cost effective for a premium product
• Using conventional Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) - thus avoiding the need for large scale investments in production machinery
• Non-toxic, environmental friendly production

• Material
• Sapphire
• Metal Hardness
• MOHs (Hardness Unit)


• Process
• PVD
• Sputtering


• Test Related
• Hardness Test
• Coloration or Refraction Test

RnD Lab

Patent