GVD's flagship product is Exilis™ PTFE, an ultra-thin, pure PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) fluoropolymer coating. Exilis™ PTFE is chemically indistinguishable from bulk, conventional PTFE (Teflon® PTFE).
Exilis™ PTFE coatings give you the best of both worlds: all the benefits of conventional PTFE combined with a superior, dry, ultra-thin coating process. Exilis™ PTFE coatings share bulk PTFE properties including excellent non-stick/release performance, unsurpassed lubricity, chemical inertness, RF transparency, low dielectric constant, hydrophobicity, and biocompatibility. As a bulk material, PTFE is both insoluble and infusible. Typical coating methods necessitate spraying/dipping a customer's part with a liquid dispersion of PTFE powder, followed by an aggressive cure step (360°C/ 680°F). This makes coating of temperature-sensitive substrates (e.g. plastics, fabrics) very difficult. Thick, porous PTFE coatings often result due to sintering of the PTFE powder, and adhesion is poor unless a primer is used. In contrast, GVD's technology allows for an ultra-thin, smooth PTFE coating to be deposited on almost any surface, conforming to features down to the nanoscale. GVD's PTFE coatings are produced without the use of liquid solvents, a primer, or the need for a cure step.
When you need a fluoropolymer surface, but don't want the expense or manufacturing problems associated with bulk fluoropolymers, GVD's Exilis™ PTFE coating is a good choice.
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GVD's process is gentle enough that even cotton t-shirt fabric can be coated to make it instantly water repellent without a difference in the fabric's stiffness or feel. The coating penetrates each and every fiber of the porous structure providing an ultra-thin sheath of PTFE.
Part Compatibility: GVD's coatings can uniformly coat a broad range of part surfaces, regardless of material composition (e.g. paper, plastic, metal), feature size (down to the nano-scale), or geometry (flat or curved, smooth or complex, dense or porous).
Low Temperature: Conventional processes require UV or high temperature sintering or curing steps to melt-form, crosslink, or dry polymer films. In contrast, the GVD process is a simple, low temperature process suitable for coating sensitive substrates like plastics, fabrics, electronics, etc. No post-processing is required.
Scaleable: Overall substrate dimensions can range from millimeters to >1 meter. As such, GVD can coat customer products ranging in size from individual semiconductor chips to larger industrial parts. Processing can be done in batch or semi-continuous (e.g. roll-to-roll) modes.
Ultra-Thinness: GVD coatings are as thin as 20 nanometers. Wet processes typically produce much thicker coatings (10-1,000 times thicker).
Rapid: High deposition rates rapidly afford coatings up to several microns thick. GVD coating thicknesses can be 10 microns or more.
Reproducible: Repeatable coatings are assured by use of in situ coating thickness monitors and computer control of the deposition process. Pinpoint control over coating thickness and all coating parameters is achievable.
Uniform and Conformal: Homogeneous coating thicknesses are achieved over intricately shaped surfaces, including those with micro- or nano-scale features and porosity.
Adjustable Properties: Conventional coating methods take pre-made polymers and attempt to produce a coating. The properties of the coating are fixed by the composition of the starting material. In contrast, GVD simultaneously synthesizes polymers during the coating process. Superior, well-defined coatings with tailored properties (purity, thickness, topology) are produced.
Pure, Dry process: GVD's technology obviates the need for solvents and other conventional processing additives which may compromise the purity and performance of conventional coatings.
Excellent Adhesion: Due to GVD's conformal polymerization process, our coatings exhibit adhesion that is superior to that of coatings deposited using conventional methods. Even GVD coatings exhibiting "non-stick" properties (e.g., PTFE) adhere well to their substrates.
Our Exilis™ PTFE coatings have been successfully used for: