Embodiments of a plug for use in an electrostatic chuck are provided herein. In some embodiments, a plug for use in an electrostatic chuck includes a polymer sleeve having a central opening; and a core disposed in the central opening of the polymer sleeve, the core having a central protrusion and a peripheral ledge, wherein an outer surface of the core includes a helical channel extending from a lower surface of the core towards the peripheral ledge to at least partially define a gas flow path through the plug, and wherein the peripheral ledge is disposed between an upper surface of the polymer sleeve and the lower surface of the core.

The present disclosure relates to an arc ion coating device and a coating method. The arc ion coating device includes: a vacuum chamber with a vacuum environment inside; an arc generation component disposed in the vacuum chamber and comprising a cathode target, an anode and an arc starter, the cathode target being columnar and configured to release plasmas, and the arc starter being disposed between the cathode target and the anode and configured to generate charged particles to guide a generation of an arc between a side of the cathode target and the anode to coat a workpiece; a support frame disposed in the vacuum chamber, the support frame being disposed at a side of the anode away from the cathode target and configured for a placement of the workpiece; and a power supply component comprising an arc power supply and a first accumulator, the arc power supply having a first output end and a second output end, the first output end being configured to output a pulsed voltage and connected to the arc starter, the second output end being configured to output an adjustable DC voltage and charge the first accumulator, and a negative pole and a positive pole of the first accumulator being connected to the cathode target and the anode, respectively.

An arc ignition device for cathodic arc deposition of a target material onto a substrate, comprising a trigger finger arranged moveable between a contacting position and a resting position, wherein in the contacting position a side surface of an adjacent target can be physically contacted by the trigger finger, and in the resting position the adjacent target cannot be contacted by the trigger finger, wherein during cathodic arc deposition of a target material, the trigger finger is arranged movable between the contacting position and the resting position in such a way that the contamination of the trigger finger with deposited target material during the cathodic arc deposition of the target material can be minimized.

The invention relates to a method for coating work pieces in a vacuum treatment system having a first electrode embodied as a target, which is part of an arc vaporization source. Using the first electrode, an arc is operated with an arc current and vaporizes material. A bias voltage is applied to a bias electrode, which includes a second electrode that is embodied as a work piece holder, together with the work pieces. Metal ion bombardment is carried out either to pretreat the work pieces or in at least one transition from one layer to an adjacent layer of a multilayer system, so that neither a significant material removal nor a significant material buildup occurs, but instead, introduces metal ions into a substrate surface or into a layer of a multilayer system.

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a power supply circuit for powering a plasma reactor and more specifically initiating and maintain a plasma therein, and that can operate with power from an intermittent power source. The power supply may include an auxiliary-power supply or trigger circuit, in addition to a primary-power supply circuit, which can reduce the need for high-voltage equipment in the high-power section of the power supply. In one particular use, the power supply includes a high-voltage power output that may be used for generating a plasma between electrodes, for example, in a nitrogen-fixation plasma system. The power supply circuit may provide the flexibility to power a plasma reactor using an intermittent power source, such as solar, wind, and/or a periodic low-cost power grid, while reducing wasteful power conditioning, lowering the cost of operation, and increasing the efficiency of chemical production from the renewable energy.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, reducing electrical energy stored in a load or in one or more leads for connecting a power supply with the load is achieved by plasma process power circuitry including a switch in operative connection with at least one of the leads for enabling/interrupting power to the load; a first electrical nonlinear device; an energy storing device arranged in series with the first electrical nonlinear device; and a pre-charging circuit in operative connection with the energy storing device, the pre-charging circuit configured to charge the energy storing device to a pre-determined energy level while power to the load is enabled.

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.

Cathode structures are disclosed for use with pulsed cathodic arc deposition systems for forming diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on devices, such as on the sliders of hard disk drives. In illustrative examples, a base layer composed of an electrically- and thermally-conducting material is provided between the ceramic substrate of the cathode and a graphitic paint outer coating, where the base layer is a silver-filled coating that adheres to the ceramic rod and the graphitic paint. The base layer is provided, in some examples, to achieve and maintain a relatively low resistance (and hence a relatively high conductivity) within the cathode structure during pulsed arc deposition to avoid issues that can result from a loss of conductivity within the graphitic paint over time as deposition proceeds. Examples of suitable base material compounds are described herein where, e.g., the base layer can withstand temperatures of 1700° F. (927° C.).

The invention relates to an arrangement for coating substrate surfaces by means of electric arc discharge in a vacuum chamber, wherein electric arc discharges between a target (1) which is electrically connected as a cathode and is formed from a metal material are used. Arranged at a distance from the target (1) is an anode (2), with which the electric arc discharges are ignited to form a plasma formed with metal material of the target (1). The target (1) is connected to a first electric power source (3) and the anode (2) to a second electric power source (4), wherein the absolute values of the electric voltages connected to the target (1) and to the anode (2) different from one another.

A deposition apparatus, which forms a film on a substrate, includes a rotation unit configured to rotate a target about a rotating axis; a striker configured to generate an arc discharge; a driving unit configured to drive the striker so as to make a close state which the striker closes to a side surface around the rotating axis of the target to generate the arc discharge; and a control unit configured to control rotation of the target by the rotation unit so as to change a facing position on the side surface of the target facing the striker in the close state.