A rectilinear plasma filtering system for vacuum-arc deposition of diamond-like carbon coatings

Abstract A study of the operation of an electric-arc carbon-plasma source for DLC deposition with the use of a rectilinear filter has revealed that the operating efficiency of plasma flux passage through the filter is determined by the shape of the cathode used. It is demonstrated experimentally that the use of a shaped cathode makes it possible to increase the filter efficiency by no less than 20% compared with that for a standard cathode. The growth rate of a uniformly thick coating, attained during operation with a shaped cathode, was measured to be 3 μm h −1 on a diameter of 18 cm. These results are four times higher (in ion current value) and an order of magnitude greater (in the diameter of a uniformly thick coating) than the previous results obtained with a curvilinear filter.