A major obstacle for the broad application of cathodic are plasma depositio
n is the presence of micro- and nanoparticles in the plasma, also often ref
erred to as 'macroparticles'. This paper reviews the formation of macropart
icles at cathode spots, their interaction with the are plasma and substrate
, and macroparticle separation and removal from the plasma by various filte
ring methods. Nineteen variants of filters are discussed, including Aksenov
's classic 90 degrees-duct filter, filters of open architecture, and the co
ncept of stroboscopic filtering. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights
reserved.