Evaluation of doped amorphous carbon coatings for hydrophobic applications in aerospace

To improve aircraft performance in adverse service environments, specific coatings are applied to critical surfaces to improve (i) erosion, (ii) corrosion, (iii) hydrophobic, or (iv) icephobic properties. Although protective coatings are available in all four groups, aerospace applications require combinations of properties that are not readily available, for example hydrophobicity together with erosion resistance. The combination of hydrophobic (or icephobic) and erosion properties is difficult to obtain. Known hydrophobic or icephobic materials are usually polymers that are too soft to provide required erosion resistance and durability in aircraft service conditions. Conversely, physical vapour deposited coatings that are erosion resistant and durable, typically do not have adequate hydrophobicity. However, recent studies on amorphous carbon (a-C) coatings indicate that these materials have potential for combined hydrophobic and erosion applications through doping or compositional changes. Thus, this pa...