Ceramic Coating Technology and Development
Ceramic coatings operate at the critical interface between a component and its environment, where exposure to heat, wear, corrosion, and chemical attack can determine long-term performance. These technologies help protect critical components, extend service life, and enable operation in demanding conditions.
From gas turbine engines to thermal protection systems, ceramic coatings provide thermal protection, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and environmental durability. These properties help improve reliability, efficiency, and service life across a wide range of applications.
Lucideon combines materials science expertise, advanced processing technologies, and comprehensive characterization capabilities to support ceramic coating development from concept through to commercial implementation.
Ceramic coatings are protective or functional ceramic layers applied to component surfaces to enhance performance and durability. They are designed to protect substrates from demanding operating conditions, including elevated temperatures, corrosive atmospheres, erosion, wear, and thermal cycling.
Coating developers are increasingly seeking solutions that deliver longer service life, improved performance, and lower manufacturing costs without compromising reliability. This is driving demand for novel coating materials, manufacturing approaches, and processing technologies.
Common ceramic coating systems include:
- Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) for high-temperature protection
- Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) for ceramic matrix composites and advanced ceramics
- Wear-resistant coatings for industrial and manufacturing applications
- Corrosion-resistant coatings for aggressive operating environments
- Functional coatings that provide electrical, thermal, or chemical performance benefits
Lucideon capabilities
Lucideon provides end-to-end support for the development, processing, evaluation, and optimization of advanced ceramic coatings.
Materials development
Our experts support the development of advanced coating materials across a wide range of applications, including thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), aerospace systems, and energy technologies.
Through a combination of experimental research and industrial application knowledge, we help organizations develop coating solutions capable of performing reliably in harsh operating environments.
Process development
Successful coating performance depends not only on material selection, but also on manufacturing process optimization. Lucideon supports the development and scale-up of coating deposition processes, including:
- Tape casting
- Pad printing
- Screen printing
- Sol-gel coatings
- Dip coating
These capabilities are available through The AMRICC Centre, which is hosted and managed by Lucideon and provides access to facilities for advanced ceramics and ceramic processing.
We also develop innovative sintering routes when conventional approaches do not meet technical or commercial requirements. This includes investigating alternative sintering technologies where existing methods do not achieve the required coating performance or are not cost-effective for wider adoption.
Examples of advanced technologies developed by Lucideon include:
Xenon Flash Sintering
Xenon Flash Sintering is a high-temperature, rapid-heating technique that requires no physical contact with the part or sample. We have demonstrated the sintering of zirconia pellets in as little as 15 minutes, as well as surface densification of non-oxide ceramics.
These characteristics give Xenon Flash Sintering significant potential as a scalable coating processing technology.
Contactless Flash Sintering
Contactless Flash Sintering is an advanced sintering technique in which an electric field is applied to a material through a plasma without direct physical contact with the sample. This approach facilitates rapid heating and uniform sintering, reducing thermal gradients and improving microstructural control.
These innovative approaches can significantly reduce processing times and energy consumption while enabling the manufacture of advanced ceramic coating systems.
Materials discovery and modeling
Lucideon's IMPACTTM platform supports accelerated coating and materials development through a combination of experimental and computational approaches.
Using IMPACTTM, we can:
- Discover and evaluate new coating compositions
- Predict material performance
- Accelerate development cycles through advanced modeling techniques
This integrated approach helps reduce development risk and supports faster deployment of new coating technologies.
Materials characterization and testing
Developing reliable ceramic coatings requires a detailed understanding of material behaviour, performance, and degradation mechanisms. Lucideon offers a comprehensive suite of analysis and evaluation capabilities, supported by specialist materials scientists with extensive experience in harsh-environment applications.
Our capabilities include:
Microstructural analysis
Detailed evaluation of coating microstructure, including:
- Coating thickness
- Porosity and pore structure
- Degradation mechanisms
- Failure mechanisms
- Microchemical composition
- High temperature real-time X-ray diffraction analysis
Particulate analysis
Specialist capability to:
- Detect particulate matter
- Characterize particulate morphology
- Measure and quantify contamination and debris
Thermal analysis
Measurement of material properties across a wide temperature range, from cryogenic conditions to high-temperature service environments, helps build a clearer understanding of material behaviour. Rapid high-temperature exposure of test panels and thermal breakthrough testing provide additional insight into coating performance, durability, and long-term reliability.
Why Lucideon?
Lucideon is a trusted partner for organizations developing and deploying advanced ceramic coating technologies.
Customers choose Lucideon for:
- Expertise in coating materials, processing, characterization, and performance evaluation
- Experience in developing novel coatings for demanding industrial applications
- End-to-end support from materials discovery through to commercial implementation
- Access to advanced development facilities through the AMRICC Centre
- Processing expertise spanning conventional, flash, and advanced sintering technologies
- Advanced modeling capabilities through the IMPACTTM platform
- Comprehensive materials characterization and testing services
- Extensive experience developing coatings for harsh operating environments
Whether you are developing next-generation TBCs, evaluating EBC performance, or exploring new ceramic coating technologies, Lucideon can help you develop, evaluate, and optimize coating solutions for demanding applications.