摘要 |
The present invention relates to implementation of magnetic and electrostatic forces to guide ions along curved trajectories in an ion source such that macroparticles are separated from the ion stream (56). Magnetic and electrostatic fields act in concert with the present invention to cause ions to flow along curved trajectories from the arc source to an area (12) where worpieces may be treated. Since macroparticles produced by consumable electrode sources are much less affected by magnetic and electrostatic fields, said macroparticles are able to be separated from the ion stream (56) due to the curved trajectories followed by the ions. The present invention permits effective macroparticle filtering by incorporating a consumable electrode (10) material that faces away from the workpieces and to a closed end (34) of the ion source. This filtering technique allows separation of macroparticles from the ion stream (56) without substantially compromising deposition area, deposition rate, ion transport efficiency and/or uniformity in coating.
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