CATHODIC ARC DEPOSITION OF FILMS

Cathodic are deposition is a plasma-based technology for the fabricati on of films. The process can be carried out either at high vacuum or i n a low pressure gaseous environment, and films can be formed for exam ple of metals, ceramics, diamondlike carbon, some semiconductors and s uperconductors, and more. The plasma stream can be filtered to remove microdroplet contamination, and the ion energy can be controlled by su bstrate bias, thereby transforming the straightforward deposition meth od into hybrids with other surface modification processes such as ion beam-assisted deposition, ion beam mixing, and ion implantation. The m ethod provides a versatile and powerful plasma tool for the synthesis of novel and technically important surfaces.