Sub-one Technology, Inc.

Frederick Contreras

Andrew William Tudhope

William John Boardman

Raul Donate Mercado

Thomas B Casserly

A system () for coating surfaces of a workpiece () comprises a biasing system () for connection to said workpiece () and an anode () such as to negatively bias the workpiece relative to the anode and a vacuum source () for evacuating an interior of the workpiece (). A gas supply () is employed for introducing a gas containing a treatment material to said workpiece and a control system () controls the biasing system (), the vacuum source () and the gas supply () so as to establish a hollow cathode effect within the workpiece (). A pair of coupling heads () are supported on articulated arms () movable in one or more of three axes and include removable shields () to protect the heads () and an anode mount () for receiving an anode (). The articulated arms allow the system to accommodate a plurality of different shaped and different sized workpieces while the shields protect the coupling heads during a deposition process.

System and method for treating surfaces of components

A method and system for coating the internal surfaces of a localized area or section of a workpiece is presented. Conductive structures are inserted into one or more openings of a workpiece to define the section to be coated. In some embodiments, a bias voltage is connected to a workpiece section, which functions as a cathode. A gas source and vacuum source are coupled to each conductive structure through a flow control system. The flow control system enables a first opening to function as a gas inlet and a second opening to function as a vacuum exhaust. Only the section encompassed by the conductive structures is coated. When the coating process is completed, a means for varying the conductive structures along the length is utilized to move onto the next section to be coated.

Method and system for coating sections of internal surfaces

A method and system for coating the internal surfaces of a workpiece is presented. A bias voltage is connected to a workpiece, which functions as a cathode. A gas source and a vacuum source are coupled to each opening through a flow control system. The flow control system is capable of a first mode which enables a first opening to function as a gas inlet and a second opening to function as a vacuum exhaust. The flow control system also has a second mode which enables a first opening to function as a vacuum exhaust and a second opening to function as a gas inlet. The cycling may also be used to coat internal surfaces of a workpiece with a single opening. Cycling the flow control system between the first mode and second mode is performed until a uniform coating along the internal surfaces of the workpiece is achieved.

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Livermore, CA, United States of America

Frederick Contreras