Pulsed cathodic arc deposition
AssigneeOerlikon Surface Solutions AG, PfäFfikon
InventorJukka Kolehmainen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An assembly for cathodic arc deposition of a material onto an article. The assembly includes a chamber for receiving an article to be coated and a rotating target. The rotatable target has a surface from which a plasma material is ejected. An anode ring is positioned a first distance from the surface of the rotatable target. The anode ring has an opening with a central axis that is parallel to a rotational axis of the rotatable target and offset a second distance from the rotational axis. A spark device is disposed in the chamber for generating an arc on the surface of the rotatable target. The assembly configured to direct a stream of charged particles ejected from the surface of the target through the opening of the anode ring to the article to be coated.
Claims10
An assembly for cathodic arc deposition of a material onto an article, the assembly comprising:
- a chamber for receiving an article to be coated, the chamber being evacuated to a pressure below atmospheric pressure;
- a rotatable target disposed within the chamber, the rotatable target having a surface from which a plasma material is ejected and a rotational axis;
- an anode ring disposed in the chamber and positioned a first distance from the surface of the rotatable target, the anode ring having an opening extending through the anode ring, a central axis of the opening positioned parallel to the rotational axis of the rotatable target and offset a second distance from the rotational axis of the rotatable target;
- and
- a spark device disposed in the chamber for generating an arc on the surface of the rotatable target,
- wherein the assembly is configured to direct a stream of charged particles ejected from the surface of the rotatable target through the opening of the anode ring to the article to be coated.
A method for coating an article using a cathodic arc deposition assembly, the cathodic arc deposition assembly comprising a target disposed within an evacuated chamber, the target having a surface from which a plasma material is ejected and a rotational axis, an anode ring disposed in the evacuated chamber and positioned a first distance from the surface of the target, the anode ring having an opening extending through the anode ring, a central axis of the opening positioned parallel to the rotational axis of the target and offset a second distance from the rotational axis of the target and a spark device disposed in the evacuated chamber for generating an arc on the surface of the target, the method comprising the steps of:
- rotating the target about the rotational axis of the target;
- and
- applying a voltage to the target and the anode to cause plasma to be ejected from the surface of the target and directed through the opening of the anode ring to the article.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.