Technological plasma source equipped with combined system of vacuum-arc discharge initiation

The construction and the operation principle of erosion plasma source with a three-stage system of vacuum-arc discharge excitation is described. As first two step was used the modified contactless start system with plasma injector, which was widely used in standard plasma sources of the ''Bulat'' systems. The operation principle of the third stage was based on the transition of glow discharge to arc discharge. Coordinated operation of three stages during various stages of coating deposition provided significant increasing of service life and reliability of the system of vacuum-arc discharge initiation and extended the functionality of the plasma source