Cathodic vacuum arc plasmas can be used to produce well adherent, dense, highquality films and coatings provided macroparticles are removed from the plasma. Both plasma and macroparticles are produced at cathode spots, and in most cases both can easily be observed because they emit light. The nature of this light emission is briefly discussed. Using open, curved solenoids as magnetic filters, o...

The paper shows that high–quality super-conducting Nb films can be deposited by means of arc discharges under ultra–high vacuum conditions. The critical temperature Tc of Nb–films obtained with a planar cathodic arc Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) system, is very close to that of pure bulk niobium Tc = 9.26 K and the transition to super–conducting state is very narrow. The films have higher Residual Re...

Arc and glow discharges are defined based on their cathode processes. Arcs are characterized by collective electron emission, which can be stationary with hot cathodes (thermionic arcs), or nonstationary with cold cathodes (cathodic arcs). A brief review on cathodic arc properties serves as the starting point to better understand arcing phenomena in sputtering. Although arcing occurs in both me...

In the present study, the effects of growth defects and chromium content loss on the degradation of corrosion and passivation of cathodic arc evaporation (CAE-PVD) of stainless steel coating were investigated in 2 M sulphuric acid solution. EDS analysis indicated that the micro-particles were obtained during the coating growth. In addition, it was detected that the growth defects had poor adhes...

The pre-treatment of substrate surfaces prior to deposition is important for the adhesion of physical vapour deposition coatings. This work investigates Si surfaces after the bombardment by energetic Cr ions which are created in cathodic arc discharges. The effect of the pre-treatment is analysed by X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and in-d...

(AlCrTiMoV)N high entropy nitride film was prepared on 17-4PH stainless steel substrate using cathodic arc evaporation (CAE). The composition, microstructure, and thermal stability were investigated scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanical properties such as hardness Young’s modulus coating performance against wear erosion also evaluated. resul...