Effects of pulsing parameters on production and distribution of macroparticles in cathodic vacuum arc deposition

The effects of pulsing parameters such as the duty cycles, frequencies, and arc currents on the production and distribution of macroparticles (MPs) were studied. A tunable pulsed arc power supply that could provide either direct current (dc) or pulsed current plus dc was used in the experiments. Copper and titanium were used as the cathodes, and glasses were used as the substrate. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and special image processing were utilized to investigate the MPs deposited onto the substrate. Our results illustrate the general trend that the MP density increases with higher dc but decreases with increasing pulsing frequency. There is no obvious relationship between the MP density and the duty cycle at high dc but the MP density obviously increases with the duty cycle at low dc. © 2006 American Vacuum Society.