Silicon-Metal PVD Target Composition for Non-Stick Cookware Coatings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing PVD layers on stainless steel cookware tend to discolor under high temperatures and trap dirt, making them inconvenient to clean and posing safety risks due to temperature limitations.
Innovation Solution
A PVD target composed of silicon 10-30% and a balance of chromium, zirconium, or titanium is used to form a composite film that enhances surface hardness, prevents discoloration, and provides non-stick performance without requiring a concave-convex substrate structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a PVD layer is formed on stainless steel cookware to provide non-stick performance, then non-stick performance is improved, but the PVD layer tends to discolor under high temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite PVD layer containing silicon, chromium, zirconium, and/or titanium in specific proportions (silicon: 10-30%, chromium: 40-70%, zirconium: 10-30%, titanium: 5-20%) to achieve both non-stick performance and high-temperature stability. The composite structure prevents discoloration while maintaining non-stick properties, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and temperature resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the compositional parameters of the PVD layer by controlling the percentages of silicon, chromium, zirconium, and titanium to achieve the desired balance between non-stick performance and discoloration resistance. By adjusting these parameters, the coating maintains its properties at high temperatures while providing effective non-stick functionality.
2Ease of operation
If a concave-convex structure is created on the PVD layer surface to enhance non-stick performance, then non-stick performance is improved, but dirt trapping occurs making cleaning inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite PVD layer with specific material composition (silicon, chromium, zirconium, and/or titanium in controlled proportions) that provides inherent non-stick performance without requiring a concave-convex surface structure. This smooth-surface composite coating achieves non-stick functionality while preventing dirt trapping, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and ease of manufacture.
3Ease of operation
If polytetrafluoroethylene coating is applied to achieve non-stick performance, then non-stick performance is improved, but the coating volatilizes at 260°C and decomposes at 350°C posing safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces polytetrafluoroethylene with a composite PVD layer consisting of silicon, chromium, zirconium, and/or titanium. This inorganic composite coating provides superior thermal stability, resisting discoloration and decomposition at high temperatures while maintaining non-stick performance, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a durable, long-lasting PVD coating that does not volatilize or decompose like polytetrafluoroethylene. The composite material structure ensures the coating remains stable at cooking temperatures, eliminating the need for frequent replacement and ensuring continuous safe use, thereby improving reliability while maintaining non-stick functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The PVD layer formed using this target achieves high surface hardness, maintains color integrity at high temperatures, and ensures easy cleaning with excellent non-stick performance, while also being cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
a layer of polytetrafluoroethylene is usually coated on the surface of cooking utensils... Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technology, which forms a PVD layer on metal surfaces
Data Source
AI summary
The present application discloses a PVD target, the PVD target consists of the following components by mass percentage: silicon 10-30% and a balance metal, the metal includes one or more selected from a group consisting of chromium, zirconium, and titanium. The PVD target provided in the present application can form a composite film composed of metal, silicon, metal nitrides, silicon nitride, and metal silicides on a surface of a metal substrate after undergoing physical vapor deposition. The composite film can ensure a tight bonding of the composite film through a combination of substances with different particle sizes, isolate air, and avoid gaps present in PVD films formed from single-element targets.