Characterization of large area filtered arc deposition technology: part II — coating properties and applications

UHV arc for high quality film deposition

“…Very recently much progress has been made in understanding the nature of the cathode spot, the distribution of energy ions, the role of cohesive energy [5], the importance of atomic scale heating [6] and selfsputtering [7]. However oxygen and hydrogen incorporation in films produced in the pulsed mode [8,9] and in DC operation [10] is also often reported. It is believed the contamination originates from the water vapor layer that forms on the cathode surface between arc pulses when working in high vacuum, due to the residual water vapor present in the chamber, or from backstreaming of diffusion pump oil in case of DC operation [10].…”

“…However oxygen and hydrogen incorporation in films produced in the pulsed mode [8,9] and in DC operation [10] is also often reported. It is believed the contamination originates from the water vapor layer that forms on the cathode surface between arc pulses when working in high vacuum, due to the residual water vapor present in the chamber, or from backstreaming of diffusion pump oil in case of DC operation [10]. The problem of water contamination can be particularly important in the case of deposition of materials with getter properties, like Niobium, Titanium, Vanadium, Zirconium.…”

Cathodic-Arc and Thermal-Evaporation Deposition

“…LAFAD has been used to deposit multilayer films of TiN/Ti and TiCrN/TiCr (89). Nanolaminates WC-CrAlN with a bilayer period of 2-10 nm have been deposited by Lee et al (90).…”

Some Applications of Cathodic Arc Coatings

“…Using their dual-arc LAFAD (large-area filtered arc deposition) facility [29], Gorokhovsky and co-workers deposited TiN/Ti multilayers and TiCrN/TiCr superlattice multilayer coatings on periodontal dental instruments [30]. They demonstrated that wear is reduced by approximately 90% compared to uncoated dental tools.…”