Electron-Beam Deposition of Magneto-Dielectric Coatings in Medium Vacuum

Abstract

Materials, combining dielectric and magnetic properties, are very attractive to use in such fields of industry as RF electronics and aerospace industry, for the manufacturing of radio-absorbing coatings. The emerging trend towards miniaturization of the various devices such as unmanned aerial vehicles requires deposition of thin and light-weight films that combine magnetic and dielectric properties. In this work we propose an advanced approach to formation of such thin magneto-dielectric coatings – by the use of a fore-vacuum plasma-cathode electron source. Using the electron-beam evaporation of dielectric (alumina ceramics) and magnetic targets in medium vacuum (several Pa), we create dense multicomponent plasma, which provides the flux of the particles of gas and the target materials, allowing to deposit magneto-dielectric coatings on a metallic substrate with a very high deposition rate (approximately microns per minute), and high degree of coating uniformity. We present here our preliminary results on the electron-beam evaporation of ceramic and magnetic targets.