History
Industrial use of modern cathodic arc deposition technology originated inProcess
The arc evaporation process begins with the striking of a highEquipment design
A Sablev type Cathodic arc source, which is the most widely used in the West, consists of a short cylindrically shaped, electrically conductive target at the cathode with one open end. This target has an electrically-floating metal ring surrounding it, working as an arc confinement ring (Strel'nitskij shield). The anode for the system can be either the vacuum chamber wall or a discrete anode. Arc spots are generated by a mechanical trigger (or igniter) striking on the open end of the target making a temporary short circuit between the cathode and anode. After the arc spots are generated they can be steered by a magnetic field, or move randomly in absence of magnetic field. The plasma beam from a Cathodic Arc source contains some larger clusters of atoms or molecules (so called macro-particles), which prevent it from being useful for some applications without some kind of filtering. There are many designs for macro-particle filters and the most studied design is based on the work by I. I. Aksenov et al. in 70's. It consists of a quarter-torus duct bent at 90 degrees from the arc source and the plasma is guided out of the duct by principle of plasma optics. There are also other interesting designs, such as a design which incorporates a straight duct filter built-in with a truncated cone shaped cathode as reported by D. A. Karpov in the 1990s. This design became quite popular among both the thin hard-film coaters and researchers in Russia and former USSR countries until now. Cathodic arc sources can be made into a long tubular shape (extended-arc) or a long rectangular shape, but both designs are less popular.Applications
Cathodic arc deposition is actively used to synthesize extremely hard films to protect the surface of cutting tools and extend their life significantly. A wide variety of thin hard-film, Superhard coatings andSee also
*References
* SVC "51st Annual Technical Conference Proceedings" (2008) Society of Vacuum Coaters, ISSN 0737-5921 (previous proceedings available on CD from SVC Publications) * A. Anders, "Cathodic Arcs: From Fractal Spots to Energetic Condensation" (2008) Springer, New York. * R. L. Boxman, D. M. Sanders, and P. J. Martin (editors) "Handbook of Vacuum Arc Science and Technology"(1995) Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, N.J. * Brown, I.G., Annu. Rev. Mat. Sci. 28, 243 (1998). * Sablev et al., US Patent #3,783,231, 01 Jan. 1974 * Sablev et al., US Patent #3,793,179, 19 Feb. 1974 * D. A. Karpov, "Cathodic arc sources and macroparticle filtering", Surface and Coatings technology 96 (1997) 22-23 * S. Surinphong, "Basic Knowledge about PVD Systems and Coatings for Tools Coating" (1998), in Thai language * A. I. Morozov, Reports of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 163 (1965) 1363, in Russian language * I. I. Aksenov, V. A. Belous, V. G. Padalka, V. M. Khoroshikh, "Transport of plasma streams in a curvilinear plasma-optics system", Soviet Journal of Plasma Physics, 4 (1978) 425 * https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273004395_Arc_source_designs * https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234202890_Transport_of_plasma_streams_in_a_curvilinear_plasma-optics_system Industrial processes Thin film deposition Coatings