Quality assurance procedures in surface engineering - Surface characterisation as important part

Surface engineering, now recognized as an enabling technology of major importance in the successful, most effective, and efficient exploitation of materials in engineering practice. As the use of surface coatings becomes widespread, the need to assess the quality and reliability of these films becomes more important, both for coating suppliers as a means of process monitoring and for users as a means of identifying whether the properties of the coating are suitable for the intended application. In order to produce such coatings and surface treatments acceptable for us in, for example, the manufacturing industry, there is need to establish, evaluate, and implement appropriate quality assurance procedures.