CATHODIC ARC DEPOSITION OF FILMS

Cathodic arc deposition is a plasma-based technology for the fabrication of films. The process can be carried out either at high vacuum or in a low pressure gaseous environment, and films can be formed for example of metals, ceramics, diamond-like carbon, some semiconductors and superconductors, and more. The plasma stream can be filtered to remove microdroplet contamination, and the ion energy can be controlled by substrate bias, thereby transforming the straightforward deposition method into hybrids with other surface modification processes such as ion beam–assisted deposition, ion beam mixing, and ion implantation. The method provides a versatile and powerful plasma tool for the synthesis of novel and technically important surfaces.