Phone 0114 225 3644
Fax 0114 225 3501
E-mail P.Hovsepian@shu.ac.uk
Professor Hovsepian joined the Materials and Engineering Research Institute, (MERI) in 1997 and took up a Personal Chair at Sheffield Hallam University in 2004. He has more than 30 years experience in PVD development and has carried out pioneering work on the development of Cathodic Arc PVD technologies and systems leading to industrial implementation of the process.
At present he is heading the Thin Films Reseach Centre and the Nanotechnology Centre for PVD Research at MERI, Sheffield Hallam University. His major field is development of industrial technologies for deposition of application tailored nanoscale multilayer/superlattice structured PVD coatings using various advanced deposition techniques. Some examples include corrosion and wear resistant coatings (CrN/NbN), high temperature oxidation resistant coatings (TiAlN/CrN, CrAlYN/CrN), tribological low friction coatings (TiAlN/VN, TiAlCN/VCN and C/Cr). The superlattice coating family has found applications in the Textile industry, Hydraulic and Petrochemical industry, Paper industry, Wood cutting, Machining of aerospace alloys, Protection of aerospace alloys, Automotive industry, Protection of surgical blades, and Protection of wear parts in food processing machines. Other fields of interest are coatings for decorative applications (Nb based), and duplex technologies combining plasma nitriding with PVD coatings.
Professor Hovsepian has published more than 120 scientific papers, has been granted 12 patents (2 European + 3 USA), 3 product patents and contributed chapters in two books dedicated to the PVD field, (Nanostructured PVD Coatings, Springer, 2005).
He is involved in several industrial projects which include; European CRAFT project, European IP project and MERI Green Shoots project. Professor Hovespian is also involved in partnerships with large number of European, USA and Far East companies, as well as leading research organisations such as Fraunhofer, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Centre for Microanalysis of Materials, University of Illinois and many others.
He is a co-inventor of the High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering Technology for Surface Pre-treatment, a Sheffield Hallam University-patented technology which has been commercialised by licensing so far to four world leading PVD companies in Europe, (IonBond Int, Hauzer-The Netherlands, SVS-Germany) and one in USA.
He is a member of European Joint Committee on Plasma and Ion Surface Engineering, the Thin Film Division committee of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications, IUVSTA and member of the British Vacuum Council. He has been awarded the R.F. Bunshah award by the American Vacuum Society in 2005 and the Innovation Award for PVD Coating Development on Cutting Tools by Yorkshire Forward Centre for Industrial Collaboration in 2006.
All of Papken's papers can be accessed at SHURA.