ION PLATING AS AN INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING METHOD

Plasma-supported reactive deposition technologies set up possibilities to produce high-quality compound films for various applications. In the Balzers activated reactive ion plating (ARIP) system the hot filament cathode of a non-self-sustaining arc source provides electrons directed to an anodic crucible to evaporate Ti. On their way, the low-voltage electrons produce a magnetically confined discharge plasma in the working and reactive gas and in the coating material vapor. Ionization, dissociation, and excitations occur. By acceleration to negatively biased, precleaned substrates, the kinetic and potential energy of the positive ions and excited species is responsible for the formation of well adherent, hard, dense, and stoichiometric compound films such as TiN and TiCxNy. ARIP is used worldwide in an economic high-volume production of wear-resistant coatings on steel tools and machine parts. Another commercial system was obtained by combining a 270-degrees e-beam evaporator with the thermionic arc source. Using self-biasing of insulators, unheated glass substrates can be coated by this reactive low-voltage ion plating process with hard, dense, generally amorphous oxide and nitride films for particularly optical applications. Multilayers with stable optical characteristics have been obtained showing excellent mechanical and environmental resistivity.