Cathodic Arc Deposition

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Cathodic arc deposition is a kind of ion beam deposition where an electrical arc is created that literally blasts ions from the cathode. This is used quite extensively particularly for carbon ion deposition to create diamond-like carbon films. Because the ions are blasted from the surface ballistically, it is common for not only single atoms, but larger clusters of atoms to be ejected. Thus, this kind of system requires a filter to remove cluster from the beam before deposition.