Deposition of droplet-free by vacuum arc evaporation - results and applications

A pulsed high current metal ion source that produces a metallic plasma flux was designed and successfully used for film deposition. The plasma flux consists of the fully ionized plasma beam produced by a pulsed high current vacuum arc transported through a curved magnetic duct. Deposition rates of more than ten nm per second were achieved. The deposited layers are free of macroparticles, holes and pits. Films of about 50 nm thickness have been deposited homogeneously (thickness variation below 5 %) on a 4 inch substrate after 300 pulses. Repetition rates are adjustable from more than 100 Hz down to a single pulse in dependence on the acceptable thermal input. Several applications are described in the paper:1. Deposition of hard, amorphous carbon films (dlc)2. Droplet-free TiN films for advanced applications 3. Transparent Al2O3 protective coatings 4. Metallization for microelectronics.