Message from the Group Moderator:

Please notice the following terms to be a qualified member:

Topics of discussion under this restricted access Forum :

Surface Engineering, Advanced Vacuum Surface Treatments, Design of Novel Physically Vapor Deposited (PVD) Coatings Systems and Surface Characterization Techniques (NDE included) are very hot topics of current R&D in several research institutes, universities and industries.

During the take off of the new funding opportunities both for USA and EU (the expected new FP6 programme) many researchers and industries start a complete world network of mailing exchanges, meetings and so on. So we decide to make one of the main cross links and gate here at Univ. of Minho and thus this Forum birthday (on the 28th Dec 2002 ). We expect that this Forum could be a gate way for high tech ideas and cutting edge projects spin-off's for the 6FP and other type of co-operations. I have, of course the valuable help, of my international colleagues (some good friends for long). Well that traffic was so high that we decide to change the Forum as a restricted membership access, and at the same time improve up to a very high level the discussions.

The membership average entrance rate was about 1 member per hour during the first two weeks (notice that includes Christmas and New Year Holidays).

This new International Scientific and Technical FORUM aims to discuss new results, answer technical questions, present new industrial products to solve current problems (processing and characterisation) and share scientific ideas, information and industrial know-how in the field on advanced protective and functional coatings systems, surface engineering and vacuum technology. We hope that if the discussion group is worldwide and from different surface-coating processing/characterization specialties (academic & industry) the Forum will be very interesting and fruitful for all the participants.

Notice that sometimes the moderator or registered members can call some experts in surface engineering and coatings that are not involved in vacuum technology processes, but the objective is to generate some brainstorm between two different of classes people (after the discussion this member can stay on-by or leave the forum list).

See the following examples:

1. if there is a discussion on how to control the composition profile and/or phase distribution in a graded coating in order to tailor the behaviour under external applied loads in service, we can call some experts that study experimentally and numerically natural bamboo or other gradient living body. (this was the early days of the development of the first FGM concept!).
2. If we are discussing how a coating can prevent food deterioration in packaging industry, we can invite some experts on organic chemistry, etc.

We need in the forum discussion experimented industrial staff, post-graduated students, recommended under-graduated students, high reputation members from R&D Institutes and universities, from cross disciplinar areas (materials science and engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, vacuum physics, modelling, etc) so we can share interesting academic and industrial problems, concepts and future research directions RELATED TO VACUUM SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENTS AND VACUUM SURFACE TREATMENTS AND THIN FIMS AND COATINGS FOR BASIC AND FOR TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS.

Please do not use this forum to discuss problems of your own field not related to coatings industry (except if you think this can explain some case under discussion, or to try to find solution for your own situation by using alternative vacuum deposition methods).

Till now, we have discussions on thin films analysis, standardisation actions EU-USA-Japan, commercial DLC coatings for razor blades, NDE-non destructive coatings analysis, interfacial cracks in high temperature coatings, how to decrease thermal conductivity, nanostructured hard coatings, biomaterials, self-cleaning surfaces, decorative coatings on plastics, microtechnology cutting edge projects and thin films industry, but topics change every day, every hour as typical of very our list of very active members in different countries and with different background (academic and industrial and experienced consultants).

Thanks to choose to enter in our world group discussion.

If you were not yet in the web site please take a quick look at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PVD_coatings

and you will be "glued" in the public messages directory for hours!!

Till now most of the messages posted (up to 4600 messages) are of public access.

Best regards

Vasco

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Vasco Teixeira, PhD

Associate Professor in Materials Physics

Coordinator of TTES-Surface Engineering and Heat Treatment Division of

Member of IUVSTA Executive Council-2004-2007-2001 Triennium

Member of the Technical Assistant Committee of SVC-Society of Vacuum Coaters

University of Minho,Physics Department,

GRF-Functional Coatings Group, Campus de Azurém

P-4800-058 Guimarães, PORTUGAL

http://www.arauto.uminho.pt/pessoas/vteixeira

http://vteixeira.com.sapo.pt/