Reactive Deposition

Abstract

In this relatively short chapter, we consider energetic condensation in the presence of a reactive gas such as oxygen or nitrogen. This is very relevant because many of the industrial applications are based on reactive deposition in which compound coatings are synthesized on the substrate. Introduction of a reactive gas has a number of consequences, starting from the “poisoning” of the cathode surface to enhanced plasma–gas interaction, all of which affects arc erosion, particle transport, the chemistry of the plasma, and the ion velocity and charge state distribution functions. In recent years, multi-element compounds have become popular, like TiAlN, or compounds that consist of four or even more elements. The source of the material can be an alloy cathode, or a second cathode, and/or the reactive gas. Some ternary and quarternary compound films show superior performance due to their nanostructure.