Erosion behaviour of composite Al-Cr cathodes in cathodic arc plasmas in inert and reactive atmospheres

Al\(_{x}\)Cr\(_{1-x}\) composite cathodes with Al contents of x = 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25 were exposed to cathodic arc plasmas in Ar, N\(_2\) and O\(_2\) atmospheres and their erosion behaviour was studied. Cross-sectional analysis of the elemental distribution of the near-surface zone in the cathodes by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2016-02
Main Authors: Franz, Robert, Francisca Mendez Martin, Hawranek, Gerhard, Polcik, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheres
Cathode rays
Erosion
Heat affected zone
Magnetic field configurations
Plasmas
Scanning electron microscopy
X-ray diffraction
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Summary:Al\(_{x}\)Cr\(_{1-x}\) composite cathodes with Al contents of x = 0.75, 0.5 and 0.25 were exposed to cathodic arc plasmas in Ar, N\(_2\) and O\(_2\) atmospheres and their erosion behaviour was studied. Cross-sectional analysis of the elemental distribution of the near-surface zone in the cathodes by scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of a modified layer for all cathodes and atmospheres. Due to intermixing of Al and Cr in the heat-affected zone, intermetallic Al-Cr phases formed as evidenced by X-ray diffraction analysis. Cathode poisoning effects in the reactive N\(_2\) and O\(_2\) atmospheres were non-uniform as a result of the applied magnetic field configuration. With the exception of oxide islands on Al-rich cathodes, reactive layers were absent in the circular erosion zone, while nitrides and oxides formed in the less eroded centre region of the cathodes.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1512.00332