Coatings Sample Preparation and Examination Lab

1. Lab Description and Capabilities

• This facility supports storage, preparation, and analysis of coated metallic samples
• Small scale preparation of coatings and their application
• Preparation of samples for environmental exposure and electrochemical tests
• Standard practices such as scribing, thickness measurement, adhesion, chemical stability, and hardness; microscopy observation of coated surfaces

2. Deliverables

• Synthesis of organic and inorganic coatings as well as their application on different substrates at a small scale
• Apply coatings and paints to a research (small) scale
• Analysis of coatings properties, such as hardness, gloss, and adherence to improve or change the coating performance
• Inspection of crystal structures, integrated circuits, semiconductors, and microelectronics
• Preparation of coated samples to ensure accurate analysis

3. Major Equipment and Specific Minor Equipment

• AmScope Phase Contrast Inverted Microscope - High quality images with 40X, 100X, 400X and 1000X magnification settings designed to observe, identify, and analyze the structure of metals and alloys
• Olympus Stereoscopic Microscope SZX16 - Offers a zoom range of 0.7X to 11.5X for a 2‐D observation, the users can observe fine details while keeping a wide field of view
• BYK micro‐TRI‐gloss meter - Measures coatings thickness and gloss, features a 20, 60, and 860 measurements for high gloss to matte materials
• BYK Pendulum Hardness Tester - Evaluates hardness by measuring the damping time of an oscillating pendulum

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