Rod-fed electron beam evaporation system

A rod-fed electron beam evaporation system comprising:

• a rotary ingot magazine containing ingots, each of said ingots composed of a substance to be evaporated;
• a rod-fed electron beam evaporation source for evaporating said ingots;
• the rod-fed electron beam evaporation source overlying said rotary ingot magazine so that each of said ingots contained within said rotary ingot magazine can be fed in an upward direction towards said rod-fed electron beam evaporation source to serve as an evaporating ingot to be evaporated within the rod-fed electron beam evaporation source and prior to being evaporated, as a replacement ingot to contact said evaporating ingot in an in-line, end to end relationship;
• each of said ingots having a rod-like configuration and engagement means for self-engaging one another so that said replacement ingot self-engages said evaporating ingot in said in-line, end to end relationship solely by being fed in said upward direction;
• the rod-fed electron beam evaporation source having a crucible to which said ingot and replacement ingot are fed for evaporation and an underlying bore in communication with said crucible for feeding said ingot and replacement ingot to said crucible, said crucible having a cavity, the cavity having a constant radius greater than that of said bore so that a melted portion of said evaporating ingot located within said crucible holds said evaporating ingot in place just prior to self-engagement of said replacement ingot;
• and
• means for feeding said ingot and replacement ingot into said rod-fed electron beam evaporation source.