Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The presence of macroparticles from cathode material in the plasma prevents the use of arc erosion sources in applications requiring high-quality coatings, especially those requiring low defect density and low roughness at the nanometer level. Here, we discuss an approach using energetic (keV) electrons injected into the arc plasma to introduce additional energy into the plasma which promotes evaporation of the macroparticles and may eventually lead to their complete destruction. By solving a self-consistent system of equations for the energy balance, the ion and electron currents to and from a macroparticle, and the macroparticle mass balance, it is shown that favorable conditions for the evaporation of macroparticles may exist.