Electron-Beam Deposition of Metal and Ceramic-Based Composite Coatings in the Fore-Vacuum Pressure Range

Abstract

We present the experimental results on the fabrication of metal-ceramic coatings by electron-beam evaporation of alumina ceramic and copper powder composites with different fractions of the components (with Cu powder fraction from 0.1 to 20%) pre-sintered by an electron beam. The mass-to-charge composition of the multi-component plasma, generated in the electron beam transport region, was measured, demonstrating that the fraction of target ions in plasma grows with the electron beam power density. The morphology and electrical conductivity of fabricated coatings were investigated; it was found that the increase in Cu fraction in the deposited coating from 0 to 20% decreases both the volumetric and surface resistance of the coatings in around 8 orders of magnitude, thereby being a convenient tool to control the coating properties.