Parylene Coating: A Simple Guide for 2025
Parylene coating is a thin-film coating technology used to improve the capabilities of leading-edge technologies. Applied as a vapor, the coating layer perfectly conforms to complex shapes and provides complete and even coverage. Product designers utilise Parylene or waterproofing electronics, adding dry lubricity and enhancing adhesion to other coatings. These coatings are popular in applications where performance and high reliability are required. In recent years, Parylene has become a preferable coating choice for industrial, commercial, and medical applications.
Parylene Conformal Coating – Process
The parylene coating process is unique and applies an ultra-thin, pinhole-free polymer film. Unlike liquid coatings, parylene is deposited through vapor-phase polymerization in a vacuum chamber. This allows it to uniformly coat even complex shapes, reaching crevices and edges with consistent thickness.
Parylene Coating Properties & Variants
There have been numerous types of Parylene researched and developed over the past 40 years; Parylene Coating Suppliers Malaysia and Singapore deal in a broad range of Parylene conformal coating. Parylene C and Parylene N has the widest commercial use. Each Parylene coating has its own unique electrical and physical properties.
Here are some of its properties:
Conformal Coating: Parylene coatings are applied through a vapor deposition process, which results in a conformal, pinhole-free coating adhering to complex shapes and surfaces uniformly.
Barrier Properties: Parylene coatings provide excellent moisture, chemical and dielectric barrier properties, along with thermal and UV stability and dry-film lubricity. These properties protect the underlying materials from environmental degradation and other external factors.
Dielectric Properties: Parylene polymers provide lower dielectric constants than other types of Parylene. It enhances the utility of the coating for next generation, high frequency and higher speed integrated circuits and related electronic components.
Thermal Stability: Parylene coatings provide seamless coverage which is defect and pinhole-free. The CVD process polymerises at normal temperature and deposits them onto components. These coatings are perfect for applications in which dependability and performance are crucial. It is the reason why Parylene is utilised in modern electronics, medical gadgets, and aircraft components.
Chemical Resistance: Parylene conformal coatings are chemically inert and show resistance to solvents at room temperature and up to 150 degrees Celsius. It is also resistant to a wide range of organic solvents, inorganic reagents, and acids. This resistance helps in preventing erosion, delamination, and other forms of coating degradation
Low Stress Coating: Due to the thinness and conformal nature of the Parylene coating, it leads to minimal mechanical stress on the coated substrate.
Pinhole-free: Parylene coatings are pinhole-free. They form a uniform, ultra-thin, and defect-free protective barrier on any surface, preventing the ingress of moisture, chemicals, and other contamination, ensuring a complete and uniform barrier layer.
Parylene Variants: Parylene N- Parylene N is the base member of the Parylene series known for its exceptional dielectric properties, low dissipation factor, high dielectric strength and low dielectric variant across frequencies. Due to its excellent crevice penetration, it is considered a reliable choice for intricate applications.
Parylene C: It features a chlorine atom on the aromatic ring, offering excellent moisture and ga barrier properties. Due to its excellent dielectric properties, it is suitable for medical devices. Parylene C is a versatile variant combining excellent electrical and physical properties with low permeability to moisture and corrosive gases. It is used for a wide range of applications, from electronics to defense.
Parylene D: Parylene D has similar characteristics as Parylene C; it is stable in slightly higher temperatures. This makes it an ideal protective coating for applications that experience huge temperature fluctuation.
Parylene HT: Parylene HT helps in safeguarding components that must survive high-temperature environments. It can ensure short-term exposure up to 450°C and provides long-term UV stability, as well as featuring the lowest coefficient of friction and highest penetration ability among Parylene variants.
Parylene AF-4: Parylene AF 4 Polymer is a newer variant with four fluorine atoms on the aliphatic carbons. It has excellent thermal stability and UV stability to protect high-temperature environments up to 350℃ and long-term UV stability. It also has the lowest coefficient of friction, the dielectric constant, and the highest penetrating ability of all the parylenes.
Parylene coating suppliers Malaysia and Singapore offers a range of Parylene coating to meet varied industrial needs. It is prudent to look for a reliable coating supplier. When choosing a parylene coating supplier, focus on their experience, capabilities, and ability to meet your specific needs, including coating thickness, application type, and any unique requirements for your project.
