Coatings Deposited by Cathodic Arc and Magnetron Sputtering Process

Dear Colleagues,

Modern PVD techniques can obtain coatings with the required structure and properties. In these methods, the material from which the coatings are formed is most often thermally evaporated or sputtered by ion bombardment. Cathodic arc (CA) and magnetron sputtering (MS) are the most commonly used PVD coating deposition techniques. The CA technique has high plasma ionization and high ion energy up to 100 eV, which allows for high deposition rates, and the large distance between the source and the substrate enables the coating of large dimensionally large elements. Coatings obtained by the CA method are characterized by high hardness, good adhesion to the substrate, high density, and homogeneity. The disadvantage of the method is the high roughness of the coating resulting from the large number of macroparticles on its surface, which is limited by appropriate cathode constructions, plasma filtering, and cathode spot movement control. The MS technique is widely used in both laboratory and industrial conditions, especially in the pulse mode has many advantages, e.g., process stability and precise process control. Recently, in many publications, such as practical applications, coatings have been deposited by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS).

Both of these techniques allow the polarization and ion cleaning of substrates. It is also possible to use a larger number of targets from various materials, or multi-components, which, in combination with the possibility of depositing in the atmosphere a mixture of inert and reactive gases, can obtain coatings of different structures and chemical and phase compositions.

This Special Issue will serve as a forum for papers on arc evaporation and magnetron sputtering technique, in the following concepts:

• Explanation and modeling of plasma physics in CA and MS methods;
• New solutions and constructions of devices with magnetron and arc sources, including microdroplet filtering techniques;
• Comparison of techniques using pulse arcs with the HiPIMS method;
• Methods and techniques for testing the chemical and phase composition, structure and properties of coatings produced by CA or MS;
• New, innovative applications of coatings deposited by CA or MS techniques in various fields, e.g., tribology, machining tools, biomaterials, and space technology.

We look forward to receiving your contribution.

Dr. Mieczysław Pancielejko
Guest Editor

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