Flame sprayed bulk solidifying amorphous alloy cladding layer

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of coating a substrate with a bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy using a thermal spraying technique to provide a coating that is substantially amorphous. Some embodiments include using a substrate having a thickness greater than the critical casting thickness of the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy, and using a brazing material to assist in adhering the coating to the surface.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method of coating a substrate with a bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy comprising:
 providing a substrate having a thickness greater than the critical casting thickness of the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy; and   thermal spraying the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy on at least one surface of the substrate,   wherein the substrate has a thickness, and a temperature so that the thermally sprayed alloy cools fast enough to avoid substantial crystallization, thereby providing a substrate coated with the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy in substantially amorphous form.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein thermally spraying comprises using a high velocity thermal spraying process selected from the group consisting of flame spraying, high-velocity oxy-fuel coating spraying (HVOF), plasma spraying, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the high velocity thermal spraying process is a high-velocity oxy-fuel coating process. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the coating has a thickness of from about 0.005 to about 0.08 inches. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the least one surface coated with the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy has a Vickers hardness of at least about 800 HV-100 gm. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a thickness in the range of from about 1 to about 100 mm, and is provided at about room temperature. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the coating is at least about 98% amorphous. 
     
     
         8 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is described by the following molecular formula: (Zr, Ti) a (Ni, Cu, Fe) b (Be, Al, Si, B) c , wherein “a” is in the range of from 30 to 75, “b” is in the range of from 5 to 60, and “c” is in the range of from 0 to 50 in atomic percentages. 
     
     
         9 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is described by the following molecular formula: (Zr, Ti) a (Ni, Cu) b (Be) c , wherein “a” is in the range of from 40 to 75, “b” is in the range of from 5 to 50, and “c” is in the range of from 5 to 50 in atomic percentages. 
     
     
         10 . The method as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy can sustain strains up to 1.5% or more without any permanent deformation or breakage. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a substrate of an electronic device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the device is an electronic device selected from the group consisting of a telephone, a cell phone, a land-line phone, a smart phone, an electronic email sending/receiving device a television, an electronic-book reader, a portable web-browser, a computer monitor, a DVD player, a Blue-Ray disk player, a video game console, a music player, a device that provides controlling the streaming of images, videos, and sounds, a remote control, a watch, and a clock. 
     
     
         13 . A method of coating a substrate with a bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy comprising:
 providing a powder alloy composition of a bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy to a thermal spray apparatus;   providing a substrate;   thermally spraying a relatively uniform coating of the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy onto at least a surface of the substrate such that the coating layer cools sufficiently rapidly to avoid substantial crystallization, thereby providing a substrate coated with a substantially amorphous bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein thermally spraying comprises using a high velocity thermal spraying process selected from the group consisting of flame spraying, high-velocity oxy-fuel coating spraying (HVOF), plasma spraying, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the coating is at least about 98% amorphous. 
     
     
         16 . The method as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is described by the following molecular formula: (Zr, Ti) a (Ni, Cu, Fe) b (Be, Al, Si, B) c , wherein “a” is in the range of from 30 to 75, “b” is in the range of from 5 to 60, and “c” is in the range of from 0 to 50 in atomic percentages. 
     
     
         17 . The method as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is described by the following molecular formula: (Zr, Ti) a (Ni, Cu) b (Be) c , wherein “a” is in the range of from 40 to 75, “b” is in the range of from 5 to 50, and “c” is in the range of from 5 to 50 in atomic percentages. 
     
     
         18 . A method of coating a substrate with a bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy comprising:
 providing a substrate having a thickness greater than the critical casting thickness of the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy;   depositing a brazing layer on the substrate;   optionally heating the substrate and brazing layer to fuse the brazing layer to the substrate, and then optionally cooling the fused substrate and brazing layer; and   thermal spraying the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy on at least one surface of the substrate,   wherein the substrate and fused brazing layer has a thickness so that the thermally sprayed alloy cools fast enough to avoid substantial crystallization, thereby providing a substrate coated with the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy in substantially amorphous form.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein thermally spraying comprises using a high velocity thermal spraying process selected from the group consisting of flame spraying, high-velocity oxy-fuel coating spraying (HVOF), plasma spraying, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the coating is at least about 98% amorphous. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the substrate has a thickness in the range of from about 1 to about 100 mm. 
     
     
         22 . The method as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is described by the following molecular formula: (Zr, Ti) a (Ni, Cu, Fe) b (Be, Al, Si, B) c , wherein “a” is in the range of from 30 to 75, “b” is in the range of from 5 to 60, and “c” is in the range of from 0 to 50 in atomic percentages. 
     
     
         23 . The method as claimed in  claim 18 , wherein the bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is described by the following molecular formula: (Zr, Ti) a (Ni, Cu) b (Be) c , wherein “a” is in the range of from 40 to 75, “b” is in the range of from 5 to 50, and “c” is in the range of from 5 to 50 in atomic percentages.