Development of Materials and Sensors for the U.S. Army’s Active Coatings Technology Program

• Main Author: James L. ZUNINO III
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: IFSA Publishing, S.L. 2007-10-01
• Series: Sensors & Transducers
• Subjects: Active Coatings Technologies; Smart Coatings; Army; Nanotechnology; Sensors; MEMS
• Online Access: http://www.sensorsportal.com/HTML/DIGEST/october_07/P_SI_10.pdf

The ability to custom build and integrate novel technologies into functionalized systems is the driving force towards the creation and advancement of active coatings systems. Active coating systems require the development and advancement of numerous technologies across various energy domains (e.g. electrical, mechanical, chemical, optical, biological, etc.). The U.S. Army is attempting to take these technologies and implement them into an active coatings system though the Active Coatings Technologies Program, thus creating the next generation of coating systems. These technologies give one the ability to work at the molecular level, atom by atom, to create large structures with fundamentally new molecular organization and yield advanced materials that will allow for longer service life and lower failure rates. Novel technologies such as nanotechnology, MEMS, meta-materials, flexible electronics, electrochromics, electroluminescence, etc. are key components in the development of active and reactive materials for the Army.