Plasma Generation in a Double Hot Anode Vacuum Arc

Vacuum arcs are used as metallic plasma sources to deposit thin films, but conventional arcs also produce macroparticles (MPs) which degrade film quality. To reduce the MPs, the Hot Refractory Anode Vacuum Arc (HRAVA) plasma source was developed with a consumed cathode, which supplies the coating material, and a refractory anode. To obtain a wider deposition area, this work presents a new configuration with a double-arc between a common cathode and two refractory anodes. Experiments were conducted using two anodes from graphite or tungsten and a water-cooled consumable Cu cathode with two active surfaces. Cu film depositions were obtained over a length of 150 mm, in contrast to the deposition from a single BRAVA that produced a deposition length of 75 mm.