Sources
Overview:
Arc evaporation source Magnetically guided arc evaporation source Hollow cathode plasma sources Ion beam source Arc evaporation source
Applications
This source's main field of application is the plasma-assisted hard material coating of tools and functional parts.
Advantages
Vacuum arc discharge between a round target (diameter 65) used as a cathode and an anode which can also be the system's ground, where the target material is explosively evaporated and ionised at the root of the arc. The target is eroded through the random and very rapid cathode spot movement.
Peculiarity
Unlike other evaporation processes, the eroded coating material is predominantly ionised and hits the substrates to be coated with a very high energy. The target of this source is utilised to a high degree even without complex magnetic field guidance or steering.
Reference object: AS 65 arc evaporation source
Downloads:
This source's main field of application is the plasma-assisted hard material coating of tools and functional parts.
Advantages
- Can be fitted in any position in the coating chamber
- Suitable for evaporating a wide variety of metals and alloys
- High target utilisation (> 50 %, depending on the material)
Vacuum arc discharge between a round target (diameter 65) used as a cathode and an anode which can also be the system's ground, where the target material is explosively evaporated and ionised at the root of the arc. The target is eroded through the random and very rapid cathode spot movement.
Peculiarity
Unlike other evaporation processes, the eroded coating material is predominantly ionised and hits the substrates to be coated with a very high energy. The target of this source is utilised to a high degree even without complex magnetic field guidance or steering.
Reference object: AS 65 arc evaporation source
Downloads:
AS 65 arc evaporation source [ 
data sheet ]
data sheet ] Magnetically guided arc evaporation source
Applications
This source's field of application is the plasma-assisted hard material coating of tools, functional parts or articles of daily use. Also interesting for coating decorative parts with chromium.
The deposition of hard material coatings on metals is one of the main fields of application. The nitrides, carbides or carbonitrides of the evaporated metals are produced by the additional admission of nitrogen or acetylene as a reactive gas.
Coatings deposited by vacuum arc evaporation have the following characteristics:
Thanks to the integration of an electrically steered magnetic field (steered arc) into the arc evaporation source, the arc velocity is increased and the so-called macro-particles (droplets) are clearly minimised compared to non-steered arcs.
This arc evaporation source has the advantage that the magnetic field can be exchanged and adapted to the target material without venting the vacuum chamber. Droplets can be further reduced via appropriate fitting of the arc evaporation source and optimisation of the process parameters. The arc is ignited electronically.
Particularly adhesive and dense coatings can be deposited by applying a negative voltage (BIAS) to the metallic substrates since the evaporated metal particles are ionised to a high degree.
Other advantages:
Principle
Materials are transferred from the solid phase to the vapour phase by energy input via a vacuum arc in a vacuum deposition process during physical vapour deposition (PVD). The particles are transported from the arc evaporation source to the substrate to be coated in a vacuum chamber. The particles which are deposited on the substrate condense and form a thin film in suitable conditions (thin film technology).
Reference object: AS 65 M arc evaporator source
Downloads:
This source's field of application is the plasma-assisted hard material coating of tools, functional parts or articles of daily use. Also interesting for coating decorative parts with chromium.
The deposition of hard material coatings on metals is one of the main fields of application. The nitrides, carbides or carbonitrides of the evaporated metals are produced by the additional admission of nitrogen or acetylene as a reactive gas.
Coatings deposited by vacuum arc evaporation have the following characteristics:
- Good adhesion
- High hardness
- Increased density
Thanks to the integration of an electrically steered magnetic field (steered arc) into the arc evaporation source, the arc velocity is increased and the so-called macro-particles (droplets) are clearly minimised compared to non-steered arcs.
This arc evaporation source has the advantage that the magnetic field can be exchanged and adapted to the target material without venting the vacuum chamber. Droplets can be further reduced via appropriate fitting of the arc evaporation source and optimisation of the process parameters. The arc is ignited electronically.
Particularly adhesive and dense coatings can be deposited by applying a negative voltage (BIAS) to the metallic substrates since the evaporated metal particles are ionised to a high degree.
Other advantages:
- Can be fitted in any position in the coating chamber
- Suitable for evaporating a wide variety of metals and alloys
- High target utilisation (> 50%, depending on the material)
Principle
Materials are transferred from the solid phase to the vapour phase by energy input via a vacuum arc in a vacuum deposition process during physical vapour deposition (PVD). The particles are transported from the arc evaporation source to the substrate to be coated in a vacuum chamber. The particles which are deposited on the substrate condense and form a thin film in suitable conditions (thin film technology).
Reference object: AS 65 M arc evaporator source
AS 65 M arc evaporator source [ data sheet ]
data sheet ] Hollow cathode plasma sources
Applications
High-current, low-voltage arc discharge between one or several gas-operated hollow cathodes and the assigned anodes in the low-pressure range of 5 x 10-4 to 5 x 10-3 mbar.
Peculiarity
An extremely high plasma density is achieved by use of the hollow cathode effect in connection with a thermally stimulated electron emission and photo effect. The electron component's energy is in the range of the maximum impact ionization cross-section.
Reference object: HV 05 hollow cathode plasma source
Downloads:
- Substrate pre-treatment
- Ion etching and activation by extracting gas ions from the plasma
- Thermal treatment
- Heating-up of products to be coated through electron collision, substrate as gas-discharge anode
- Plasma-assisted coating processes
- Hollow cathode arc discharge evaporation
- Anodic flash evaporation
- High-rate evaporation from resistance-heated evaporator boats
- High-rate evaporation with electron-beam guns (used as a plasma source)
- Effective combination of metal-vapour and plasma generation for anodic crucible evaporation or flash evaporation
- The evaporator parameters are not dependent on the plasma parameters for combining conventional evaporators with hollow cathode plasma sources
- Superposition of several hollow cathode plasma sources, each with several anodes for large-surface applications
High-current, low-voltage arc discharge between one or several gas-operated hollow cathodes and the assigned anodes in the low-pressure range of 5 x 10-4 to 5 x 10-3 mbar.
Peculiarity
An extremely high plasma density is achieved by use of the hollow cathode effect in connection with a thermally stimulated electron emission and photo effect. The electron component's energy is in the range of the maximum impact ionization cross-section.
Reference object: HV 05 hollow cathode plasma source
HV 05 hollow cathode plasma source [ data sheet ]
data sheet ] Ion beam source
Applications
The ion beam source is especially suitable for generating low-energy ions. This source is mainly used in:
Coating systems deposited by ion assistance have the following improved characteristics:
The electrons of the glow electrode, which is primarily used for beam neutralisation, are used to produce the plasma. The stable discharge is supported by a magnetic field, which is generated by an electro-magnetic coil, and the special form of the gas-flow guiding system. The ion source has no grid. The ion optic design allows the ion beam to take an optimum geometric shape.
Reference object: IBS 120 ion beam source
The ion beam source is especially suitable for generating low-energy ions. This source is mainly used in:
- Ion-assisted PVD
- Surface cleaning
- Surface modification
- Ion-assisted deposition of optically active coating systems on plastics and mineral glasses
Coating systems deposited by ion assistance have the following improved characteristics:
- Higher index of refraction
- Greater packaging density
- Better adhesion
- Better stoichiometry
- Excellent long-term stability to environmental influences
- Low water absorption
The electrons of the glow electrode, which is primarily used for beam neutralisation, are used to produce the plasma. The stable discharge is supported by a magnetic field, which is generated by an electro-magnetic coil, and the special form of the gas-flow guiding system. The ion source has no grid. The ion optic design allows the ion beam to take an optimum geometric shape.
Reference object: IBS 120 ion beam source
