Polymer thin film coatings are of interest for a large number of applications. Their use ranges from photovoltaic cells to chemical and biological sensors to biomedical applications. In comparison with other coating techniques, such as drop casting, spin coating, inkjet printing, and screen printing, spray coating has the advantage of being able to coat three dimensional micro structures.
Conventionally, air pressure is used for atomization, i.e. to break up the liquid into tiny droplets. Alternatively, ultrasonic atomization uses high frequency sound vibration to generate a fine mist of droplets. Ultrasonic spray coating is generally preferred for high tech applications, since it generates smaller, more uniform droplets, enabling precise and reproducible conformal coating on planar and (micro)structured surfaces.
This equipment is located at Surfix (Plus Ultra, Bronland 12, Wageningen Campus).