A magnetic field-assisted cathode arc ignition device and a coating method

Through the magnetic field-assisted cathode arc-induced device, the arc-induced needle and coil combination control arc spot movement is solved, and the problem of large particles in cathode arc plating technology is achieved, achieving the preparation and production efficiency of high-quality films.

CN112831759BActive Publication Date: 2025-08-05JIANGSU XCMG CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY RESEARCH INSTITUTE LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202110134697.1
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-02-01
Publication Date
2025-08-05
Estimated Expiration
2041-02-01

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing cathode arc plating technology has serious problems of large particles, which affects the application of high-quality films, especially nano-scale films, and the magnetic filtration device increases the complexity of equipment and maintenance difficulty.

Method used

The magnetic field-assisted cathode arc-induced arc device is used to control the arc spot movement trajectory through the combination of arc-induced needle, focus coil and deflection coil, reduce the formation of large particles, and use the axial magnetic field and deflection magnetic field to separate large particles, and combine it with an open filter structure to avoid large particles deposition.

Benefits of technology

The preparation of high-quality films is achieved, which reduces large particle pollution, improves production efficiency, reduces equipment complexity and maintenance difficulty, and ensures the uniformity and deposition rate of the film.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a magnetic field-assisted cathode arc ignition device and a coating method. The device includes an arc ignition electrode having an annular inner side surface; a plurality of arc ignition needles, all of which are arranged on the annular inner side surface of the arc ignition electrode; a cathode target, the cathode target includes a frustum section, the cathode target is arranged inside the arc ignition electrode and is spaced apart from the arc ignition electrode, the frustum section includes a first end face and a second end face, and the area of the first end face is larger than that of the second end face; the end of the arc ignition needle contacts the cathode target; a focusing coil is arranged outside the arc ignition electrode, and the axis of the focusing coil is parallel or coaxial with the axis of the frustum section; a deflection coil is used to control the deflection path of arc ions; the device or method can control the movement trajectory of the arc spot and reduce the formation of large particles.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an arc starting device, and particularly to a magnetic field assisted cathode arc starting device and a coating method. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous improvement of the scientific and technological level, the requirements for the surface properties of materials are getting higher and higher, and the material surface modification technology has received more and more attention.

[0003] As one of the physical vapor deposition technologies, the cathode arc ion plating technology is a vacuum coating technology developed by combining the vacuum evaporation technology and the sputtering coating technology. This technology was jointly developed by the American companies Multi-arc and Vac-Tec and entered the industrial application stage in 1981. In the following decades, this technology has made rapid progress in research.

[0004] The cathode arc ion plating technology is based on the principle of arc discharge. An arc discharge occurs locally on the surface of the target, melting the micro-region of the target, exciting the target plasma, and finally moving to the surface of the substrate to deposit and grow a film. Since this technology has a relatively simple structure, a high ionization rate of the target, good diffraction performance, a high density of the deposited film layer, and the arc source can be placed arbitrarily on the equipment with a large coating area, it is widely used in the field of decorative plating and mechanical processing industries such as tool coatings.

[0005] Traditional arc ion plating still has problems, and the most important one is large particle contamination. When continuous arc discharge occurs on the surface of the target, a molten micro-region is formed, and the excited plasma inevitably contains large particles. The deposition of large particles leads to a decrease in the coating quality. At a relatively rough processing accuracy, the presence of large particles can be tolerated, such as simple metallurgical coatings or tool coatings. However, the presence of macroscopic large particles severely limits the application of this technology in high-quality thin films, especially nano-scale thin films.

[0006] In response to the most serious problem of macroscopic large particle contamination, researchers have carried out a large amount of research work, using different macroscopic particle filters to eliminate or reduce the influence of large particles. The most widely used filter is the magnetic filter device, and means such as changing the substrate bias voltage waveform are used to solve the problem. The principle of the magnetic filter device is to form an axial magnetic field in the pipeline through an excitation coil. The plasma moving in the bent axial magnetic field follows a curved path along the axially bent magnetic force lines, while the large droplets move along a straight path in the magnetic field due to their small charge and large mass. Therefore, they are separated in the magnetic filter and hit the inner wall of the filter. The magnetic filter plays a dual role of filtering and transmission.

[0007] The existing improved technologies of arc ion plating still have deficiencies. After adding a magnetic filtering device, although the large particle contamination is controlled, the filtering of the plasma will lead to a decrease in plasma density. Especially for the closed elbow-shaped filtering structure, it causes a significant reduction in the film deposition rate and poor coating uniformity for large-sized workpieces, affecting production efficiency. At the same time, the added closed magnetic filtering cavity further increases the complexity of the equipment, enlarges the equipment volume, and raises the manufacturing cost of the equipment. During use, particulate matter inevitably deposits in the magnetic filtering pipeline and needs to be maintained regularly, increasing the maintenance difficulty of the equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cathode arc coating device or coating method that can prepare high-quality coatings without large particles. Based on the above purpose, the present invention provides a magnetic field-assisted cathode arc ignition device, which can control the movement trajectory of the arc spot and reduce the formation of large particles.

[0009] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A magnetic field-assisted cathode arc ignition device includes

[0010] An arc ignition electrode, including an annular inner side surface;

[0011] Arc ignition needles, several of which are provided, and all the arc ignition needles are arranged on the annular inner side surface of the arc ignition electrode;

[0012] A cathode target, the cathode target includes a frustum section, the cathode target is arranged inside the arc ignition electrode and is spaced from the arc ignition electrode; the cathode target is placed vertically, the axis of the frustum section is perpendicular to the horizontal direction, the frustum section includes a first end face and a second end face, the area of the first end face is larger than that of the second end face, and the second end face of the frustum section faces downward;

[0013] A focusing coil, the focusing coil is arranged outside the arc ignition electrode, and the axial direction of the focusing coil is parallel or coaxial with the axial direction of the frustum section;

[0014] The end of the arc ignition needle contacts the cathode target;

[0015] A power supply, electrically connected to the arc ignition electrode to provide a discharge current to the cathode target.

[0016] Further, the arc ignition electrode is a cylindrical ring, the cathode target is placed inside the ring, and the arc ignition electrode is coaxially arranged with the frustum of the cathode target.

[0017] Further, several of the arc ignition needles are evenly arranged on the inner wall of the arc ignition electrode, one end of the arc ignition needle is fixedly connected to the arc ignition electrode, and the other end extends axially to contact the cathode target.

[0018] Further, the cathode target includes a cylindrical section and a frustum section. The diameter of the cylindrical section is equivalent to the diameter of the first end face of the frustum section, and the arc ignition pin is connected to the outer wall of the cylindrical section.

[0019] Further, the cylindrical section of the cathode target is a hollow structure, and a cooling liquid flows through the hollow cavity.

[0020] Further, the arc ignition electrode, the cathode target and the arc ignition pin form an assembly. The width of the focusing coil in the vertical direction is greater than the width of the assembly in the vertical direction, and the assembly is placed inside the focusing coil ring.

[0021] Further, a deflection coil is further included, and the deflection coil is used to control the deflection path of the arc ions.

[0022] Further, an installation cylinder is further included. The installation cylinder is coaxially arranged with the focusing coil. The focusing coil is arranged on the outer wall of the installation cylinder. The arc ignition electrode, the cathode target and the arc ignition pin are arranged inside the installation cylinder. The arc ignition electrode is connected to the positive pole of the arc ignition power supply through a current limiting resistor, and the negative pole of the arc ignition power supply is connected to the installation cylinder and grounded.

[0023] Further, a vacuum chamber is further included. The substrate to be coated is placed inside the vacuum chamber, and the deflection coil is located outside the vacuum chamber. A uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the horizontal plane is formed inside the vacuum chamber. When the plasma flow excited by the cathode target moves to this magnetic field, the electrons are deflected by the Lorentz force to perform Larmor motion.

[0024] Further, the arc ignition electrode is connected to an arc ignition controller, and the arc ignition pin is made of an insulating material coated with a conductive layer;

[0025] The discharge process between the arc ignition electrode and the cathode target is controlled by the arc ignition controller;

[0026] The power supply is a DC power supply.

[0027] Further, the vacuum chamber is connected to the installation cylinder. The vacuum chamber and the installation cylinder form an L-shaped cavity. The vacuum chamber is formed by a vertical cavity area and a horizontal cavity area. The vertical cavity area is the area that can be seen from the axial view of the installation cylinder starting from the end far from the vacuum chamber. The substrate to be coated is placed in the horizontal cavity area of the L-shaped cavity.

[0028] The present invention also relates to a coating method for coating using a magnetic field-assisted cathode arc ignition device, including the following steps:

[0029] Start the power supply to supply power to the cathode target material;

[0030] Start the arc ignition controller, and the tip discharge is triggered between the cathode target material and the arc ignition electrode at the arc ignition pin, so that a cathode spot is generated at the contact position between the arc ignition pin and the cathode target material, and plasma is excited;

[0031] The focusing coil starts to be energized and generates an axial magnetic field. The axial magnetic field forms an angle with the side surface of the cathode target, so that the arc triggered by the arc starting needle moves to the second end surface of the cathode target;

[0032] When an arc spot appears on the second end face of the cathode target, the potential applied by the power supply between the cathode target and the anode breaks down the gas between the two, triggering discharge in the main circuit, etching the second end face of the cathode target, and exciting target ions. At the same time, under the action of the axial magnetic field, the arc spot moves faster;

[0033] The plasma flow excited by the cathode target moves under the action of the deflection magnetic field formed by the deflection coil, while the large particles move in a straight line, and the target material ions are deposited on the surface of the substrate and grow into a thin film.

[0034] The beneficial effects of the present invention include: (1) The present invention strikes an arc at the bottom of the cathode target and uses an axial magnetic field to control the arc striking spot to move to the front end face of the target to produce etching. The etching arc spot moves rapidly on the end face of the target under the action of the axial magnetic field, thereby ensuring the uniformity of the target surface etching and reducing the generation of large particles.

[0035] (2) In the present invention, the metal target is in direct contact with the cooling water, which improves the cooling effect, reduces the temperature of the target during discharge, and fundamentally reduces the formation of large particles.

[0036] (3) The present invention utilizes the combined action of the focusing coil and the deflection coil to deflect the plasma generated by the ionization of the target material to the surface of the substrate, while the large particles included therein move in a straight line and are unlikely to reach the substrate outside the field of view of the target material, thereby avoiding the deposition of large particles in the coating and achieving the preparation of a high-quality film layer.

[0037] (4) The present invention sets a barrier strip on the inner wall of the installation tube to prevent large particles from rebounding and splashing on the inner wall, thereby preventing large particles from moving to the surface of the substrate and causing pollution.

[0038] (5) The present invention adjusts the current of the deflection coil according to the size and placement of different substrates, thereby changing the angle of the deflection magnetic field and controlling the ion sputtering area to meet the requirements of uniform coating on substrates of different sizes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of cathode target material.

[0040] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the arc striking electrode mechanism.

[0041] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the working principle of the deflection coil.

[0042] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of cathode arc ignition device.

[0043] Figure 5 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cathode arc starting device.

[0044] It includes: 1 cathode target, 101 cylindrical section, 102 frustum section; 2 mounting cylinder; 3 focusing coil; 4 vacuum chamber; 5 DC power supply; 6 arc starting controller; 7 arc starting electrode; 8 arc starting needle; 10 sputtering area; 11 substrate; 12 barrier strip; 13 deflection coil. Specific embodiments

[0045] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but it should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments.

[0046] As Figures 1-4 shown, the present invention provides a magnetic field-assisted cathode arc starting device capable of preparing high-quality coatings without large particles, which includes an arc starting system, a target, a magnetic deflection filtering system, and a vacuum chamber (vacuum cavity).

[0047] The arc starting system includes an arc starting controller 6, an arc starting electrode 7, and an arc starting needle 8. The arc starting electrode 7 is annular, coaxial with the cathode, fixed at the edge of the cathode target, with a gap between them. The arc starting needle 8 made of insulating material coated with a conductive layer connects the side of the cylindrical section 101 at the end of the cathode target to the arc starting electrode 7.

[0048] The number of the arc starting needles is set to 4, and they are evenly distributed between the cylindrical section 101 at the end of the target and the annular arc starting electrode 7.

[0049] The way that the arc starting needle directly connects the cylindrical section 101 at the end of the target and the annular arc starting electrode 7 enables tip discharge to generate the plasma with the maximum density, ensuring the reliability of successful arc starting. At the same time, the main circuit discharge process occurs on the front surface of the cathode target, avoiding damage to the arc starting part.

[0050] The magnetic deflection filtering system includes a focusing coil 3 and a deflection coil 13. The axial magnetic field formed by the focusing coil 3 forms an angle with the side of the target. Due to the acute angle rule, the arc spot at the arc starting needle discharge position moves to the front surface of the target, and further discharges on the front surface of the target to form etching. The deflection coil 13 is installed outside the vacuum chamber 4, aiming to further deflect the magnetic field to form a plasma motion region 10. According to the design, the current magnitude of the deflection coil 13 can be controlled to change the magnetic field and control the scanning range of the plasma to obtain the required coating thickness uniformity.

[0051] The cathode arc target and the arc source mounting cylinder 2 are coaxially installed and located inside the vacuum cavity.

[0052] The focusing coil 3 is installed on the outer surface of the arc source mounting cylinder 2. The axis of the focusing coil 3 is horizontally offset from the axis of the arc source mounting cylinder 2 by a distance d, and the magnitude of d is comparable to the diameter of the front end face of the cathode target. This installation method can improve the focusing effect of the focusing magnetic field on the plasma.

[0053] The focusing coil forms an axial magnetic field perpendicular to the front end face of the target, which has two functions. One is to control the movement of the arc spot at the discharge point of the ignition pin towards the front end face of the target, and the other is to accelerate the random movement speed of the arc spot during the arc discharge on the front end face of the target, reduce the formation of a large-area molten pool, and avoid the generation of large particles.

[0054] The focusing coil 3 is powered by a DC power supply (not shown in the figure), and the magnitude of the current can be adjusted as needed to control the magnetic field intensity on the surface of the target and achieve different degrees of plasma focusing.

[0055] The deflection coils 13 are located outside the vacuum chamber and are arranged in pairs, forming a uniformly distributed magnetic field perpendicular to the horizontal plane inside the vacuum chamber. When the plasma flow excited by the cathode target moves to this magnetic field, the electrons are deflected by the Lorentz force to perform Larmor motion, and the deflection radius is small and the rotation frequency is high. However, due to the large mass of the ions, the deflection effect is not obvious. Since the plasma is electrically neutral or quasi-neutral, under the action of the space charge force, the Larmor motion of the ions cannot be fully demonstrated, but is dragged by the electrons to move along the same trajectory, forming the plasma motion region 10.

[0056] The plasma motion region 10 is controlled by the deflection magnetic field generated by the deflection coils 13. By changing the magnitude of the current in the deflection coils 13, the deflection magnetic field can be controlled, and thus the movement trajectory of the plasma flow can be changed to ensure the uniformity of the coating on the substrates with different sizes and different installation positions.

[0057] The anode is the arc source mounting cylinder 2, which is connected to the vacuum chamber 4.

[0058] The main circuit discharge current is controlled by the DC power supply 5, which can control the etching intensity of the cathode target, as well as the density and energy of the excited plasma.

[0059] During the movement of the particle flow, the charged particles and the uncharged large particles are separated by the magnetic field. The large particles move in a straight line, while the charged particles move along with the deflection magnetic field to the surface of the substrate to form a high-quality thin film.

[0060] The deflection coils are placed on one side of the vacuum chamber, and the substrates 11 are installed on the other side of the vacuum chamber, distributed on both sides of the axis of the focusing coil. The substrates are located outside the visible area of the cathode target.

[0061] During the movement of the large particles, the barrier strip 12 installed on the inner wall of the anode cylinder can prevent the large particles from rebounding and sputtering on the side wall of the installation cylinder, avoiding their movement to the surface of the substrate and ensuring the smoothness of the coating surface.

[0062] The barrier strip 12 can be composed of a wire with a right-angled triangle cross-section.

[0063] After the barrier strip 12 works for a long time, a film layer will inevitably be deposited on its surface. It can be disassembled and cleaned regularly to avoid contaminating the film layer on the surface of the substrate.

[0064] In a magnetic field-assisted cathode arc ignition device in the present invention, its annular arc ignition electrode is coaxially installed with the cathode target. The cathode target includes a frustum-shaped frustum section 102 and a cylindrical section 101. The diameter of the first end face of the frustum section 102 is equivalent to the diameter of the cylindrical section 101. The first end face of the frustum section 102 is connected to the cylindrical section 101. The arc ignition needle is fixed on the arc ignition electrode and contacts the side surface of the end cylindrical section 101 of the target. By using the tip discharge of the arc ignition needle, an electric spark is formed on the side surface of the target. A magnetic field is constructed in the vertical direction of the end face of the cathode target by using a focusing magnetic coil. The movement trajectory of the electric spark is constrained and stabilized by the included angle between the axial magnetic field and the conical cathode inclined plane, so that it moves to the front end face of the cathode target under the control of the magnetic field, and an obvious arc spot is formed under the main circuit discharge voltage to etch the surface of the target and excite a large number of target ions. The frustum section 102 includes a first end face and a second end face. The first end face is placed above the second end face, and the second end face is vertically downward. The second end face is the front end, and the cylindrical section 101 is the rear end.

[0065] Furthermore, a supplementary magnetic coil can be set at the front end position of the target. The coil current is adjusted by a coil current controller to change the magnetic field intensity, further controlling the movement trajectory of the arc spot so that it moves uniformly on the circular surface at the front end of the target.

[0066] The diameter of the front end face of the consumable cathode target is smaller than the diameter of the base. The base is a hollow cylinder and is directly connected to the cooling water path. It has good cooling effect, reduces the surface temperature of the target during arc discharge, reduces the number of molten pools, and avoids the generation of large particles from the source.

[0067] The arc ignition needle is made of an insulating material coated with a conductive layer, and its resistance can be controlled by the thickness of the conductive layer.

[0068] The installation position of the arc ignition needle is at the rear end of the frustum-shaped cathode target, and it connects the arc ignition electrode and the rear cylindrical side of the cathode target.

[0069] The arc ignition electrode is in a ring shape, coaxially placed with the cathode target, has the same thickness as the cylindrical end of the cathode target, has a gap between them, is insulated from each other, and is connected by the arc ignition needle.

[0070] The discharge process between the arc ignition electrode and the cathode target is controlled by an arc ignition controller.

[0071] The arc ignition controller mainly has two functions. One is to provide discharge energy for the arc ignition electrode and automatically initiate an arc discharge when the extinction of the arc on the cathode target surface is detected. The other is to cut off the current of the magnetic coil 3 during the arc ignition discharge to eliminate the additional magnetic field on the surface of the cathode target and ensure the reliability of the arc ignition discharge. Third, when the main circuit discharges normally, cut off the power supply of the arc ignition electrode.

[0072] The described arc ignition method first discharges on the cylindrical surface at the end of the target material, controls the movement of the plasma using a focusing magnetic field, and finally forms a uniform main circuit discharge on the front surface of the target material, avoiding problems such as the bonding of the arc ignition needle to the target material, uneven etching of the target material, and the formation of large particles due to the generation of a molten pool in the traditional arc ignition method.

[0073] The operation of the vacuum arc consists of the following process. After reaching the predetermined vacuum in the vacuum chamber, start the cathode arc coating device, and the DC power supply 5 starts to supply power to the cathode target material. Start the arc ignition unit 6, and the tip discharge is triggered between the insulating arc ignition needle 8 between the cylindrical section 101 at the end of the target material and the arc ignition electrode 7, causing a cathode spot to appear at the contact position between the arc ignition needle 8 and the cylindrical section 101 at the end of the target material, and plasma is excited. The focusing coil 3 starts to be powered on (the power supply is not shown in the figure), and an axial magnetic field is generated inside the arc installation cylinder 2. Since this magnetic field forms an angle with the side surface of the target material, the arc triggered by the arc ignition needle moves to the front surface of the target material. When an arc spot appears at the front end of the target material, the potential applied by the DC power supply 5 between the cathode target material and the anode can break down the gas between the two, triggering the main circuit discharge, etching the front surface of the cathode target, exciting the target material ions, and at the same time, under the action of the axial magnetic field, the movement speed of the arc spot is accelerated, avoiding the appearance of a large-area molten pool. The plasma flow excited by the cathode target moves under the action of the deflection magnetic field formed by the deflection coil 13, while the large particles move in a straight line, obtaining target material ions without large particles, forming a sputtering area 10, and finally depositing and growing into a film on the surface of the substrate 11.

[0074] The cathode arc coating device or coating method in the present invention can:

[0075] (1) Consume the cathode target material and the arc ignition device are coaxially installed, placed in the vacuum chamber, and the rear end is in direct contact with the cooling water to ensure the cooling effect.

[0076] (2) The arc ignition electrode is annular and coaxially installed with the cathode target material, and the arc ignition needle is installed at the rear end of the cathode target material and is evenly distributed between the arc ignition electrode and the target material.

[0077] (3) The focusing coil is installed outside the vacuum chamber, its axis does not coincide with the axis of the cathode target material, the horizontal deflection distance is d, which is equivalent to the diameter of the target material, and the current magnitude in the focusing coil can be adjusted to achieve different degrees of focusing effects.

[0078] (4) The functions of the arc ignition controller include: providing energy for the arc ignition process; while igniting the arc, cutting off the power supply of the focusing coil to weaken the magnetic field intensity in the arc ignition area and ensure the success rate of arc ignition discharge.

[0079] (5) The main circuit discharge occurs at the front end face of the cathode target, and the discharge process does not affect the arc ignition device.

[0080] (6) The deflection coil is installed outside the vacuum chamber, and the magnitude of the current can be adjusted. By changing the magnitude of the current, the intensity of the magnetic field can be changed, so as to control the deflection effect on the plasma and ensure the uniformity of coating preparation on the substrate surfaces with different sizes and placement positions.

[0081] (7) The deflection and filtering function is realized by the cooperation of the focusing coil and the deflection coil, and it is an open filtering structure. Compared with the closed elbow magnetic filtering device, it reduces the transmission loss of the plasma, improves the coating deposition rate, and at the same time has a simpler structure, is easier to maintain, reduces the equipment cost and operation difficulty.

[0082] (8) The substrate is placed outside the visible area of the cathode target, and a barrier strip is set to prevent the rebound and splashing of large particles, and the deposition of large particles in the film layer is avoided to the greatest extent.

[0083] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus cannot be understood as a limitation to the protection content of the present invention.

[0084] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the content of the embodiments. For those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications can be made within the technical scope of the present invention, and any changes and modifications made are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device, characterized in that: include: An arc striking electrode, including an annular inner side surface; There are a plurality of arc-starting needles, all of which are arranged on the inner side of the annular arc-starting electrode; A cathode target, comprising a cylindrical section and a truncated cone section, wherein the diameter of the cylindrical section is equivalent to the diameter of the first end face of the truncated cone section, and the arc-starting needle is connected to the outer wall of the cylindrical section; the cylindrical section of the cathode target is a hollow structure, and a cooling liquid flows in the hollow cavity; the cathode target is disposed inside the arc-starting electrode and spaced apart from the arc-starting electrode; the cathode target is placed vertically, with the axis of the truncated cone section perpendicular to the horizontal direction, the truncated cone section comprising a first end face and a second end face, the area of the first end face being larger than the area of the second end face, and the second end face of the truncated cone section facing downward; A focusing coil is arranged on the periphery of the arc striking electrode, and the axial direction of the focusing coil is parallel to or coaxial with the axial direction of the frustum segment; A deflection coil is installed outside the vacuum chamber and is used to control the arc ion deflection path; the focusing coil and the deflection coil cooperate to form an open filtering structure to achieve a deflection filtering function; The end of the arc-starting needle contacts the cathode target; a power supply electrically connected to the arc-starting electrode to provide a discharge current to the cathode target; The arc striking electrode, cathode target and arc striking needle form an assembly, the width of the focusing coil in the vertical direction is greater than the width of the assembly in the vertical direction, and the assembly is placed in the focusing coil ring.

2. The magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arc striking electrode is a cylindrical ring, the cathode target is placed in the ring, and the arc striking electrode and the truncated cone of the cathode target are coaxially arranged.

3. The magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of arc-starting needles are evenly arranged on the inner wall of the arc-starting electrode. One end of the arc-starting needle is fixedly connected to the arc-starting electrode, and the other end thereof is axially extended to contact the cathode target.

4. The magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a mounting tube, which is coaxially arranged with the focusing coil, and the focusing coil is arranged on the outer wall of the mounting tube. The arc-striking electrode, cathode target and arc-striking needle are arranged in the mounting tube. The arc-striking electrode is connected to the positive pole of the arc-striking power supply through a current-limiting resistor, and the negative pole of the arc-striking power supply is connected to the mounting tube and grounded.

5. The magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a vacuum chamber, in which the substrate to be coated is placed, and the deflection coil is located outside the vacuum chamber. A uniformly distributed magnetic field perpendicular to the horizontal plane is formed in the vacuum chamber. When the plasma flow excited by the cathode target moves to the magnetic field, the electrons are deflected by the Lorentz force and perform Larmor motion.

6. The magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arc striking electrode is connected to an arc striking controller, and the arc striking needle is made of an insulating material coated with a conductive layer; The discharge process between the arc striking electrode and the cathode target is controlled by the arc striking controller; The power supply is a direct current power supply.

7. The magnetic field assisted cathode arc striking device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum chamber is connected to the mounting tube, and the vacuum chamber and the mounting tube form an L-shaped cavity. The vacuum chamber is formed by a vertical cavity area and a horizontal cavity area. The vertical cavity area is the area that can be seen from the axial perspective of the mounting tube with the end of the mounting tube away from the vacuum chamber as the starting point. The substrate to be coated is placed in the horizontal cavity area of the L-shaped cavity.

8. A film coating method based on the magnetic field assisted cathode arc ignition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Start the power supply to supply power to the cathode target; Start the arc ignition controller to trigger tip discharge at the arc ignition needle between the cathode target and the arc ignition electrode, so that a cathode spot is generated at the contact position between the arc ignition needle and the cathode target, thereby exciting plasma; The focusing coil starts to be energized and generates an axial magnetic field. The axial magnetic field forms an angle with the side surface of the cathode target, so that the arc triggered by the arc starting needle moves to the second end surface of the cathode target; When an arc spot appears on the second end face of the cathode target, the potential applied by the power supply between the cathode target and the anode breaks down the gas between the two, triggering discharge in the main circuit, etching the second end face of the cathode target, and exciting target ions. At the same time, under the action of the axial magnetic field, the arc spot moves faster; The plasma flow excited by the cathode target moves under the action of the deflection magnetic field formed by the deflection coil, while the large particles move in a straight line, and the target material ions are deposited on the surface of the substrate and grow into a thin film.

Citation Information

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