Parylenes

There has been a significant amount of research conducted towards the development of Parylene coatings. Parylene coatings have many uses thanks to a variety of unique properties that make them stand out as the premier solution for thin protective coating.

Parylenes are a thin film that bonds to an object during a deposition process, which creates a very thin but ex-tremely durable protective coating. Unlike liquid coatings, Parylenes completely immerse the object, penetrating all crevices to apply a uniform coat that completely protects the object. The coating process leaves no por-tion exposed, and the entire coating is pinhole free. This means that you get a complete seal, and a strong coat-ing that lasts. Parylene coating is the most advanced form of barrier protection against both organic and inorganic materials.

There are a number of applications that Parylenes are perfect for, including:

  • Military/Defense Equipment
  • Cables/Wiring
  • BioTech
  • Nanotechnology
  • Electronic Components
  • Medical Devices
  • LEDs (Displays, SMD, circuit arrays)
  • Silicone seals, gaskets, and O-rings
  • Rare Earth Magnets
  • Glass

History of Parylene

Parylene was first developed in 1947 by a British chemist, Dr. Szwarc, while working with various chemical sol-vents. He observed that these solvents (xylenes), when vaporized and pyrolised, and placed under vacuum, would form polymer films with unique and desirable properties. In the 60’s, a scientist with Union Carbide, Dr. Gorham, refined a method of depositing parylene films on electronic components. This became known as the Gorham Process where parylene was applied via Chemical Vapor Deposition.

For years to come, 65 to be more precise, parylene has seen virtually nothing in the way of improvement and innovation. The Gorham process for depositing parylene is practiced today in much the same fashion it was when first developed many, many years ago. Perhaps because it presented physical properties that surpassed those of standard conformal coatings, there was little effort concentrated on making a good thing better.

However, as the demands of increasingly miniaturized and sophisticated electronics systems continued to evolve, it became apparent that parylene coating, as applied by the Gorham method, was in dire need of an “upgrade”.

Parylene coating services are provided by companies employing the same archaic delivery methods and tech-nologies. All industry segments which currently depend on parylene for their products, from semiconductor to electronics, from LED to medical and automotive, voice the same complaint:

  • Parylene is slow (over 10-20 hrs/run)
  • Parylene is soft
  • Parylene is expensive
  • Parylene is low thermal tolerance
  • Parylene is not UV-stable

Fully 65 years passed without any real or notable improvements in the traditional process and the result was a void in the industry that was filled recently by a Silicon Valley firm - Stratamet Thin Films Inc.

Stratamet Thin Films (STF) has risen to the challenge and now provides an enhanced parylene product that ef-fectively addresses, and resolves, each of these concerns. The company’s brand of parylene, HTX is viewed as a “game-changer” in the arena of parylene coatings.

Parylene Technology continues to evolve, and become a more efficient means of protecting everything from military equipment to LEDs and cables. If you would like to learn more about Parylenes, or you feel that Parylenes would be perfect for your product, please contact us today.