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What Is Parylene Coating and Why Is It Different From Other Conformal Coatings?

Parylene

In electronics and advanced manufacturing, protecting sensitive components from moisture, chemicals, and environmental stress is critical. Conformal coatings play a key role in improving reliability and reducing field failures β€” but not all coatings perform the same. Parylene stands out as a highly effective solution when coverage, consistency, and long-term performance matter most.

What Is Parylene?

Parylene is a family of thin, transparent polymer coatings applied using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. Unlike liquid conformal coatings that are sprayed, brushed, or dipped, Parylene is deposited as a vapour in a vacuum chamber. This allows it to coat external and internal surfaces with a uniform, pinhole-free film.

Common Parylene types include:

  • Parylene N – Excellent dielectric properties and strong performance in high-frequency applications.
  • Parylene C – Widely used for outstanding moisture and chemical resistance.
  • Parylene F (AF-4) – Enhanced high-temperature stability and chemical resistance.

How Parylene Differs From Liquid Conformal Coatings

  1. Application method – Vapour deposition in a vacuum chamber delivers even coverage without pooling, meniscus effects, or edge build-up.
  2. Coverage – Parylene can penetrate tight gaps, coat under components, and reach complex geometries that liquid coatings often cannot.
  3. Film properties – Typically ultra-thin (commonly 1–50 Β΅m), transparent, flexible, and suitable for demanding environments.
  4. Performance – Strong resistance to moisture and many chemicals, with stable electrical and dielectric characteristics.
  5. Cleanliness – As a dry, solvent-free deposition process, Parylene avoids solvent residues and is well suited to sensitive applications including medical and aerospace electronics.

Liquid vs Parylene Coating

Comparison between liquid conformal coating and Parylene vapour deposition on electronic assemblies

Comparison between traditional liquid conformal coating and Parylene vapour deposition.

Where Is Parylene Used?

  • Medical devices – Catheters, sensors, pacemakers, and implantable or body-contact components.
  • Aerospace and defence – High-reliability electronics, sensors, and mission-critical assemblies.
  • Automotive – EV electronics, sensors, and ADAS-related components.
  • Consumer electronics – Wearables, IoT products, and microelectronics.

Why Choose SCH for Parylene?

At SCH Services Ltd, we combine decades of coating expertise with a complete Parylene offering:

  • Subcontract coating services – ISO-controlled Parylene coating capability for prototypes through to production.
  • Turnkey Parylene systems – Equipment, dimers, training, and long-term technical support for in-house deployment.
  • Reliable materials supply – Official European distribution partnership supporting consistent dimer availability and quality.

Whether you need immediate coating capacity or a full in-house solution, SCH provides the knowledge, equipment, and materials to support success.

If you would like to discuss Parylene coating for your assemblies or compare options against liquid coatings, get in touch with SCH. To explore SCH’s wider Parylene capabilities, including services, equipment, dimers, and support, visit our Parylene solutions page.

Comparison between liquid conformal coating and Parylene vapour deposition on electronic assemblies

What Is Parylene Coating and Why Is It Different From Other Conformal Coatings?

Parylene

In electronics and advanced manufacturing, protecting sensitive components from moisture, chemicals, and environmental stress is critical. Conformal coatings play a vital role in ensuring long-term reliability, but not all coatings perform in the same way. Among available technologies, Parylene stands out as a unique and highly effective solution.

What Is Parylene?

Parylene is a family of thin, transparent polymer coatings applied using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. Unlike liquid conformal coatings that are sprayed, brushed, or dipped, Parylene is deposited as a vapour inside a vacuum chamber. This enables it to coat all exposed surfaces β€” internal and external β€” with a uniform, pinhole-free film.

The most common Parylene variants include:

  • Parylene N – Excellent dielectric properties, often used in high-frequency applications.
  • Parylene C – The most widely used type, offering strong moisture and chemical resistance.
  • Parylene F (AF-4) – Enhanced high-temperature and chemical resistance.

How Parylene Differs From Other Conformal Coatings

  1. Application method – Vapour deposition in a vacuum environment ensures even coverage without pooling, meniscus effects, or edge build-up.
  2. Coverage – Parylene penetrates tight gaps, coats under components, and reaches complex geometries that liquid coatings cannot.
  3. Film properties – Ultra-thin (typically 1–50 Β΅m), transparent, flexible, and biocompatible.
  4. Performance – Superior resistance to moisture, chemicals, and many extreme environments.
  5. Cleanliness – A dry, solvent-free process that leaves no residues, making it ideal for medical, aerospace, and high-reliability electronics.

Where Is Parylene Used?

  • Medical devices – Catheters, stents, pacemakers, sensors, and implantable electronics.
  • Aerospace and defence – Flight electronics, sensors, and mission-critical systems.
  • Automotive – EV electronics, sensors, and ADAS components.
  • Consumer electronics – Wearables, IoT devices, and microelectronics.

Why Choose SCH for Parylene?

At SCH Services Ltd, we combine over 30 years of coating expertise with a complete Parylene offering that supports both outsourced coating and in-house capability.

  • Subcontract coating services – ISO-controlled, production-ready Parylene coating.
  • Turnkey Parylene systems – Complete equipment, dimers, training, and long-term technical support.
  • Reliable materials supply – Official European distribution supporting quality and continuity.

Whether you need immediate coating capacity or a fully validated in-house process, SCH provides the knowledge, equipment, and materials to ensure long-term success.

If you would like to discuss whether Parylene is the right solution for your application, get in touch with SCH. Β To explore SCH’s complete Parylene capability, including services, equipment, dimers, and technical support, visit our Parylene solutions page.

Parylene Training and Support

Parylene

Expert Training in Parylene Conformal Coating

On-Site or at Our Facility – Tailored to Your Needs

SCH Services Ltd offers specialist Parylene conformal coating training for organisations looking to build, strengthen, or expand their in-house capability. Whether you are introducing Parylene for the first time or developing advanced skills in rework, repair, and process control, our training programmes focus on practical knowledge that delivers quality, compliance, and efficiency.

To understand how Parylene training fits within SCH’s wider coating capability, explore our Parylene solutions.

Hands-on Parylene conformal coating training covering deposition, masking and inspection

Training Options

We offer flexible delivery formats to suit your operation:

Training at Our Facility

Attend training at our fully equipped facility, where your team will learn from experienced engineers in a controlled, real-world production environment using representative equipment and processes.

Training at Your Site

For organisations that prefer in-house delivery, we can provide the full training programme on-site. This approach is ideal for larger teams or where equipment-specific knowledge and live production processes are involved.

Course Content

Each course is tailored to your team’s experience level and production requirements. Core topics include:

  • Introduction to Parylene chemistry and vapour deposition principles
  • Equipment overview and vacuum chamber configuration
  • Surface preparation and cleanliness requirements
  • Advanced masking techniques, including tapes, boots, and custom solutions
  • Process control and coating uniformity
  • Inspection, quality control, and thickness measurement
  • Rework and repair, including removal, touch-up, and restoration
  • Health, safety, and environmental considerations

Ongoing Technical Support

Training does not end when the course finishes. SCH Services Ltd provides ongoing technical support to ensure long-term success, including:

  • Process troubleshooting and optimisation
  • Remote or on-site consultancy
  • Updates on new masking methods and equipment
  • Guidance for coating complex or sensitive assemblies

Whether you are operating a low-volume development lab or scaling to high-throughput production, SCH supports consistent, high-quality Parylene application.

Ready to Get Started?

If you would like to discuss training options or request a tailored course outline, get in touch with our team.

Email: sales@schservices.com
Phone: 01226 249019

Five key facts about Parylene when protecting printed circuit board assemblies

alternative, Blog, Parylene

Large industrial Parylene coating equipment featuring KR1200HS and KR1500HSU systems for high-volume medical, aerospace and electronics manufacturing

Here are five key facts about Parylene that are critical in understanding this process:

  1. The Parylene conformal coating process is a very specialised vapour deposition application method using specialist vacuum chamber systems. This differs significantly to all of the other liquid conformal coatings available on the market that are applied by spraying, brushing and dipping.
  2. Parylene coating is completely conformal and uniform to the surface of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) or product. It is also pinhole free. Therefore, components with sharp edges, points, flat surfaces, crevices or exposed internal surfaces are coated uniformly without voids.
  3. Parylene coating provides an excellent moisture and gas barrier due its very low permeability. This means that electronics circuit boards coated in Parylene generally are more β€œwaterproof” than the same electronics coated in a liquid conformal coating.
  4. Parylene is unaffected by solvents (it has very high chemical resistance) and is very effective against salt attack.
  5. Parylene has excellent electrical properties. This includes having low dielectric constant and loss with good high-frequency properties, good dielectric strength, and high bulk and surface resistance.

Find more in-depth details about Parylene materials, deposition principles, masking methods, thickness measurement and core application concepts at our Parylene Basics HubΒ now.

Or, if you’re interested in moving towards a Parylene process click through to our Parylene Solutions, Β Parylene equipment and Parylene subcontract services pages.

Want to find out more about Parylene?

Contact us now to discuss your needs and let us explain how we can help you.

How to Remove Parylene From a Printed Circuit Board

Blog, Parylene

conformal coating rework collage 640_SCH UK

Removing conformal coatings from a printed circuit board (PCB) is a hard process to do well. Removing Parylene coating is even more difficult.

The problems are many but a key reason is that the Parylene coating itself is chemically inert. It has a very high chemical resistance so the solvents don’t work well. This means any chemical attack tried with solvents or other liquid chemicals on the Parylene is as much likely to damage the circuit board than remove the actual coating.

This leaves the basic option of mechanical abrasion.

Mechanical Abrasion

Mechanical abrasion is a well known method for Parylene Removal. It can be done crudely by scraping off the Parylene with a knife or tool. Or, removal can be done with a media blast system like a Vaniman Problast system that gradually erodes the Parylene coating away.

However, mechanical abrasion is a time consuming process and is highly skilled. Also, it tends to be a localised repair and removal technique.

The concept of completely removing all of the Parylene off a circuit by mechanical abrasion is considered almost impossible unless a ridiculous amount of time and effort is injected into the process.

Find out now how much money you can save by using our Parylene removal service

We are happy to provide a quotation for removing Parylene through our coating services so you can see for yourself how much you can save.

Contact us now to request your quotation for complete removal of Parylene from a circuit board. Or, give us a call at (+44) 1226 249019 or email your inquiries at sales@schservices.com

Β 

What are the alternative materials to liquid conformal coatings?

alternative, Atomic layer deposition (ALD), Blog, conformal coating, Molecular vapour deposition, Parylene

There are several alternative coatings available to the traditional conformal coating materials.

These alternative coatings include:

  • Parylene and other Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) films
  • Fluorinated ultra-thin and thin film coatings
  • Molecular Vapour Deposition (MVD) coatings
  • Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) coatings

They can provide extremely high protection to circuit boards if used correctly for the right product.

There are several new and old alternative coatings available to the traditional conformal coating materials. They include Parylene, fluorinated Nano-coatings, Molecular Vapour Deposition (MVD) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) thin films.
There are several new and old alternative coatings available to the traditional conformal coating materials. They include Parylene, fluorinated Nano-coatings, Molecular Vapour Deposition (MVD) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) thin films.

Parylene (XY) Coatings

Parylene is the trade name for a variety of chemical vapor deposited poly(p-xylylene) polymers used as moisture and dielectric barriers.

Parylene is a conformal coating that is deposited as a gas in a vacuum chamber. It is a dry process compared to the standard β€œwet” liquid conformal coatings.

Find out more about our Parylene Coating Solutions or compare Parylene vs liquid conformal coatings in our knowledge hub.

Fluoropolymer (FC) Nano Coatings

Surface Modifiers are ultra thin nano coatings that are applied at less than a few microns in thickness. Liquid conformal coatings are applied in the range of 25-75um so they are considerably thicker in nature.

There are several variations in ultra thin conformal coatings out in the market now but two of the most popular types are liquid materials and partial vacuum deposition.

Read more about our full range of Fluoropolymer Nano Coatings.

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)

ALD belongs to the family of chemical vapor deposition methods (CVD).

  • It is a deposition process at a Nano-scale level within a vacuum chamber.
  • The deposition process forms ultra-thin films (atomic layers) with extremely reliable film thickness control.
  • This provides for highly conformal and dense films at extremely thin layers (1-100nm).

Molecular vapour deposition (MVD)

MVD belongs to both the families of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods.

  • Unlike traditional CVD and ALD flow systems the MVD reaction takes place in a chamber under static pressure resulting in extremely low chemical use.
  • The MVD process produces highly conformal thin film coatings, typically less than 100nm in thickness.
  • The coating provides excellent barrier properties and surface energy control.

Need to know more about alternative materials to the traditional liquid conformal coatings?

Contact us now and we can discuss how we can help you. Or, give us a call at (+44) 1226 249019 or email your inquiries at sales@schservices.com

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