20 years of cooperation between Sheffield Hallam University and Hauzer

The HIPIMS Technology Centre at Sheffield Hallam University has pioneered the developments of HIPIMS (High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering) on a large scale. They were the first to upscale HIPIMS to large Hauzer cathodes (1200 cm2) and developed in cooperation with Advanced Converters in Poland, now Hüttinger, the first industrially viable HIPIMS cathode power supply.

Sheffield Hallam University jointly patented with Hüttinger and Hauzer a solution for a dedicated HIPIMS bias power supply. They pioneered the adhesion enhancing HIPIMS surface pre-treatment and licensed this to a number of industrial companies. A range of HIPIMS based coatings have been developed. Initially a lot of work has been done in developing tribological and high temperature oxidation and corrosion resistant coatings.

In collaboration with CERN, they are recently developing a HIPIMS plasma based technology for deposition of low temperature superconducting films on the inner walls of the particle accelerator. New coatings for solar cells are under development in cooperation with Fraunhofer IST.

Teamwork between companies and universities can bring many benefits to both parties. Hauzer experiences such advantages in the cooperation with Sheffield Hallam University. “Hauzer is a world leading systems manufacturer and technology developer, therefore a rich source of information about the real demands for PVD technologies in industry,” Arutiun Ehiasarian, Professor of Plasma Sciences and Surface Engineering at the HIPIMS Technology Centre at Sheffield Hallam University UK, says. “Furthermore, Hauzer is a company who values highly and implements innovative technologies; therefore a preferred partner for us for development of work and business.”

The alliance between Hauzer and Sheffield Hallam University started in 1992 when Sheffield Hallam University bought a Hauzer machine with Arc Bond Sputtering (ABS) technology. After several upgrades in the years that followed, the machine is now mostly used for HIPIMS technology. “HIPIMS is an excellent technology for etching the surface and coating,” Arutiun says. “Because HIPIMS generates metal ions without the droplets that characterize arc technology, adhesion is very strong. It is like implanting ions into the substrate surface. We use the Hauzer machine mostly in a very wide spectrum of research and development activities, spanning from fundamental research to production of small batches of coated components for direct industrial application.

"Although we are a university based research centre we are equipped and have purposely built over the years the infrastructure of a small job coating company in which the Hauzer system occupies the focal point. We sincerely believe that the ‘small secrets’ we shared with the Hauzer process engineers during a recent training, have given them additional tools to stay at the cutting edge, one step ahead of the others on the market in this field.”