Ceramic coating deposition by electron beam evaporation

We describe a new method for the deposition of protective ceramic-based coatings. The novelty of the method lies in the unique interaction of the electron beam with a dielectric target, in which ions in the beam-produced plasma neutralize the target surface charge build-up. This effect is brought about by the use of our novel forevacuum-pressure, plasma-cathode electron beam source, which can produce energetic, focused electron beams, with associated beam-produced plasmas, in the previously inaccessible pressure range of 1–100Pa. The work described here demonstrates the evaporation of aluminum oxide ceramic by electron beam bombardment and the subsequent deposition of an alumina coating. A significant increase in the microhardness of the ceramic-coated Ti substrate and a uniform depth-distribution of the elemental composition has been determined. The approach described here opens up new opportunities for the deposition of coatings in various fields of industry. •A method for deposition of ceramic coating by e-beam evaporation of ceramic using fore-vacuum electron source is shown.•We employed this method for deposition of alumina-oxide coating on titan sample.•Surface hardness of Ti sample is increased in 3 times after deposition of coating with a uniform elemental composition.•Composition of beam plasma with gas and evaporated particle ions was investigated using modified analyzer RGA-100.