Nanolamination is the production of materials that are fully dense, ultra-fine grained solids that exhibit a high concentration of interface defects. The properties of fabricated nanolaminates depend on their compositions and thicknesses.
Production
Nanolaminates can be grown using atom-by-atom deposition techniques that are designed with different stacking sequences and layer thicknesses.
Electrolytic reduction
Electrolytic reduction
An electrolytic cell is an electrochemical cell that utilizes an external source of electrical energy to force a chemical reaction that would not otherwise occur. The external energy source is a voltage applied between the cell′s two electrod ...
allows the production of metals and metal alloys in sub-
µm
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...
-thick layers. It can be employed to create alloys with properties such as improved toughness, strength, thermal properties and corrosion that are a function of the interfaces in the nanolayers. They can be created using a bath containing multiple metal ion elements. By changing the current at precise moments to select a different element, it can create a layered structure. Coatings of up to a centimeter thick have been created.
It is claimed to offer the benefits of high-cost materials at much lower costs, because such materials can coat lower-cost materials that have other necessary properties such as strength.
Commercial production was introduced in the 2010s by a new company named Modumetal.
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Atomic layer deposition
Many hybrid thin film oxides can be created using atomic layer deposition (ALD) with unique physical, chemical, and electronic properties. For example, a rough oxide layer can be further coated with a smooth oxide layer to provide a required surface texture. Properties may also depend on deposition temperature and the stratum to which the nanolaminate is applied.
Performance
In autoclave
An autoclave is a machine used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient pressure and/or temperature. Autoclaves are used before surgical procedures to perform sterilizat ...
testing, some nanolaminated alloys have shown 8 times the resistance of carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
s to degradation and in some cases, no measurable degradation.[
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Applications
Application include those that take advantage of enhanced mechanical properties or for devices such as energy storage and memory storage capacitors.[
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Oil and gas
Corrosion-resistant, structural tubulars and casings are important infrastructure assets in the oil and gas industry. Tubulars and casings are subject to aggressive well conditions, serving to permit operations across extreme formation and production pressure differentials, in high temperatures and in highly corrosive environments that contain hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...
(), carbon dioxide () and chlorides.[
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Electronics
Nanolaminate dielectrics
In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the mater ...
can have efficient dielectric constant
The relative permittivity (in older texts, dielectric constant) is the permittivity of a material expressed as a ratio with the electric permittivity of a vacuum. A dielectric is an insulating material, and the dielectric constant of an insulat ...
and high insulation characteristics. Dielectric materials with giant dielectric constants can be fabricated as modified single, binary and perovskite
Perovskite (pronunciation: ) is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (chemical formula ). Its name is also applied to the class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure as (XIIA2+VIB4+X2−3), known as ...
oxides.[
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See also
* Electroplating
Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current. The part to be ...
References
External links
* {{cite book, first1=Veikko , last1=Lindroos, first2=Sami , last2=Franssila, first3=Markku , last3=Tilli, author4=Mervi Paulasto-Krockel, author5=Ari Lehto, author6=Teruaki Motooka, author7=Veli-Matti Airaksinen, title=Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies, url={{google books , plainurl=y , id=BLMiELHNj9sC, page=440, date=December 8, 2009, publisher=Elsevier, isbn=978-0-8155-1988-1, pages=440–
Materials science
Alloys
Drilling technology
Nanotechnology