Controlling properties via microstructural lengthscales at surfaces and in bulk materials

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Materials processing technologies have advanced to the point where control now begins at the atomic scale.  With this degree of control comes the ability to highly tune material properties to meet the demands of individual applications.  One method to achieve such control over structure and properties is physical vapour deposition (PVD).  Via PVD technologies it is possible to achieve microstructures and materials impossible via other techniques.  For example, it is possible to achieve materials with very high densities of internal interfaces exhibiting combinations of strength and ductility unachievable by other routes.Development of PVD technology has brought it to the point where it is becoming increasingly attractive for application in continuous coating of metallurgical products, e.g. metallic sheet.  For example in Europe there are now industrial PVD coating lines capable of handling full sized steel sheet.  This proposal focuses on the deposition of alloys on to metallic substrates, such that the microstructural scale of the deposit is on the order of a few nanometers.  This builds on recent observations of alloy coatings with combined strength and ductility via the incorporation of high densities of growth faults and/or twins.  The broad goal is to advance our knowledge on the fundamental relationship between plasticity and microstructural scale, while examining the potential for the use of such coatings in metallurgical applications.From a practical point of view, this work will involve the deposition of commercially relevant metallic alloys, leading to the production of hard surfaces with chemistries the same as, or very similar to, the chemistry of the underlying sheet.  Such technology could have numerous applications within the Canadian metals industry, important given that Canada lags behind Europe and Asia in developing this technology for application to sheet metal.  In this context the proposal should be considered within the framework of the Reallocation Committee's  Proposal 1 " Application of New Technologies in Canadian Resource Industries".