A method and apparatus for open-air pulsed laser deposition with a low pressure zone maintained between the targets and the substrate by pumping the ambient gas out with a vacuum pump. The zone between the targets and the substrate may be shielded from ambient oxygen with an inert gas flowing from outside. The films can be deposited on a large substrate, which may be freely translated with respect to the targets. The apparatus may accommodate multiple pulsed laser beams and multiple targets. The targets may be remotely tilted in order to provide optimal plume overlapping on the substrate. At least one target may be deposited using the matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation process. The target may be made of a polymer solution frozen with circulating liquid nitrogen.

A plasma processing system used for reactive sputtering may include multiple dual magnetron sputtering (DMS) components. Each DMS component may include a power supply coupled with two electrodes that switch between operation as a cathode and anode and are located within a plasma chamber. The power supply may be configured to operate as a transmitter or receiver power supply. A transmitter power supply may receive a phase-control-input signal that includes a phase offset value and may produce a phase-control-output signal and synchronization signal. The transmitter power supply may send the phase-control-output signal and synchronization signal to a receiver power supply, which may use these signals to synchronize electrode switching with the transmitter power supply and to apply the phase offset.

A method for preparing a CeO.sub.x coating on a surface of a substrate includes depositing a CeO.sub.x coating on the surface by means of a reactive magnetron sputtering from a pure cerium target. The CeO.sub.x coating can be transparent for visible light. A method for reducing the adhesion of a tissue material such as from a human to a surface of a medical instrument, for reducing the water condensation and improving the heat transfer performance of a heat exchanger surface of a substrate, and for reducing corrosion of a surface of a substrate includes depositing a CeO.sub.x coating on the substrate by means of a reactive magnetron sputtering from a pure cerium target. This provides an environmentally friendly preparation of the CeO.sub.x coating with no need for organic solvents or volatile organic compounds. The CeO.sub.x coating has good hydrophobicity, enhanced hardness, exceptionally high wear resistance, and superior thermal stability.

A system and a method for fabricating crystals, the method comprising heating an irradiation target to a temperature comprised in a range between a boiling point temperature of a material of the irradiation target and a critical point temperature of the material of the irradiation target, thereby generating a plasma plume of particles ablated from a surface of the irradiation target.

A fluorine plasma resistant coating on a substrate being a component in a semiconductor manufacturing system is disclosed. In one embodiment the composition includes an AlON coating that overlies a substrate, and an optional yttria coating layer that overlies the AlON coating, with a total coating thickness of about 5-6 microns.

A method for preparing an ammonium thiomolybdate-porous amorphous carbon composite superlubricity film is disclosed. First, a porous amorphous carbon film is prepared by an anode layer ion source assisted plasma chemical vapor deposition method and a reactive magnetron sputtering method on a substrate. The porous amorphous carbon film is then impregnated in an ammonium thiomolybdate solution, so that the ammonium thiomolybdate is adsorbed on the porous amorphous carbon film, and the impregnated porous amorphous carbon film is air dried. During the friction process, the composited porous amorphous carbon superlubricity film prepared in the present disclosure promotes the in-situ decomposition of ammonium thiomolybdate to generate molybdenum disulfide by utilizing the friction heat at the initial stage of running-in, further to generate a graphene-like structure under the function of a catalyst, thus realizing a macroscopic super lubricity through a heterogeneous incommensurate contact between graphene and molybdenum disulfide.

A coated cutting tool has a hard coating on a surface of a base material. The hard coating is a nitride of Al, Cr, and Si in which Al is 50 atom % or more, Cr is 30 atom % or more, and Si is 1 atom % or more and 5 atom % or less. The hard coating contains 0.02 atom % or less of Ar, and the atomic ratio A and the atomic ratio B of nitrogen satisfy the relationship of 1.02≤B/A≤1.10, and a diffraction peak originating from the (111) plane of a face-centered cubic lattice structure shows the maximum intensity. In the cross-sectional observation of the hard coating, the number of droplets having an equivalent circle diameter of 3 μm or more is less than 1 per 100 μm.sup.2. The surface of the hard coating has an arithmetical mean curvature Spc value of 5000 or less.

A cutting tool comprises a rake face and a flank face, the cutting tool being composed of a substrate made of a cubic boron nitride sintered material and a coating provided on the substrate, the coating including a MAlN layer, when a cross section of the MAlN layer is subjected to an electron backscattering diffraction image analysis to determine a crystal orientation of each of the crystal grains of the M.sub.xAl.sub.1−xN and a color map is created based thereon, then on the color map, the flank face having the MAlN layer occupied in area by 45% to 75% by crystal grains of the M.sub.xAl.sub.1−xN having a (111) plane with a normal thereto extending in a direction within 25 degrees with respect to a direction in which a normal to the flank face extends, the MAlN layer having a residual stress of −2 GPa to −0.1 GPa.

An apparatus for generating sputtering of a target to produce a coating on a substrate is provided. The apparatus has a magnetron including a cathode and an anode. A power supply is operably connected to the magnetron and at least one capacitor is operably connected to the power supply. The apparatus also includes an inductance operably connected to the at least one capacitor. A first switch and a second switch are also provided. The first switch operably connects the power supply to the magnetron to charge the magnetron and the first switch is configured to charge the magnetron according to a first pulse. The second switch is operably connected to discharge the magnetron. The second switch is configured to discharge the magnetron according to a second pulse.

A high-power pulsed surface processing system includes insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) to replicate desirable pulse structures with high precision, at low cost, and with high reliability within a single system. The pulsed surface processing system includes a power supply, an anode and a cathode, a dual gate driver supplying power to one or more IGBT gates, and one or more capacitor banks. Pulse formation software controls the timing and duration of electrical pulses to the electrodes. A freewheeling diode protects the system from an abrupt reduction of current in the circuit. The high-power pulsed surface processing system may be used to control versatile and complex pulse structures while with precise control of instantaneous pulse powers, pulse timing, and process control. The inclusion of dual gate drivers also offers the ability for multiple pulsers to be created and “slaved” together for a wide variety of custom processes.