Surface & Coatings Technology, Volume 61 presents the proceeding of the 20th International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films, held in San Diego, California, on April 19–23, 1993. This book discusses a variety of topics related to surface and coatings technology, including coatings for use at high temperature, hard coatings, and vapor deposition technology. Organized into 141 chapters, this compilation of papers begins with an overview of the coating requirements for long-life bucket protection, how each of these coating systems has performed, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. This text then discusses the gradient-free transition step achieved in the element analysis of the depth profiles. Other chapters consider the metastable yttrium oxide films that are synthesized using reactive sputter deposition. This book discusses as well the use of appropriate copper-based alloy coatings on structural components. The final chapter deals with the particle mechanical and thermal behavior in the process of high velocity oxy-fuel spraying. This book is a valuable resource for chemical engineers and metallurgists.