This review summarizes the more-than-25-years of development of the so-called thermionic vacuum arc (TVA). TVA is an anodic arc discharge in vapors of the material to be deposited; the energy for its melting is delivered by means of a focused electron beam. The resulting material ions fall at the substrate where they form a well-adhesive layer; the ion energy is controllable. The deposited layers are, as a rule, free from droplets typical for cathodic arc deposition systems and the thermal stress of the substrates being coated is low. TVA is especially suitable for processing refractory metals, e.g., carbon or tungsten, however, in the course of time, various useful applications of this system originated. They include layers for fusion application, hard coatings, low-friction coatings, biomedical-applicable films, materials for optoelectronics, and for solid-state batteries. Apart from the diagnostic of the film properties, also the diagnostic of the TVA discharge itself as well as of the by TVA generated plasma was performed. The research and application of the TVA proceeds in broad international collaboration. At present, the TVA technology has found its firm place among the different procedures for thin film deposition.

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/3/211/pdf

Thermionic Vacuum Arc—A Versatile Technology for Thin Film Deposition and Its Applications

Consequences of deuterium retention and release from Be-containing mixed materials for ITER Tritium Inventory Control

In order to assess the tritium removal procedure currently suggested for ITER (wall baking at 513 K (240°C) for the main chamber, and 623 K (350°C) for the divertor), deuterium (D) retention and release behaviour of beryllium (Be) containing materials are investigated. In pure Be, D is predominantly released around 470 K with a relatively sharp desorption peak. Mixing of tungsten (W) or carbon (C) into Be changes the D desorption behaviour causing less efficient D removal by the baking procedure. Especially, high C concentrations in Be affect the D release behaviour significantly and prevents removal of the retained D by baking at 623 K. As a consequence, the baking operation in ITER would work for tritium removal from the first wall and Be-rich deposited layers formed at low temperature areas, while it does not work for C-rich codeposited layers and/or plasma-facing surfaces heated above 623 K during a discharge.

/pdf/consequences-of-deuterium-retention-and-release-from-be-106vu1spe3.pdf

Consequences of Deuterium Retention and Release from Be-containing Mixed Materials for ITER Tritium Inventory Control

Simultaneous carbon and tungsten thin film deposition using two thermionic vacuum arcs

In this paper, we present the numerical simulation of the Be deposition phenomena using the Thermionic Vacuum Arc
(TVA) method. The Be marker layer must be adherent to the substrate and compact to resemble bulk beryllium.
Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) is an externally heated cathode arc which can be established in high vacuum condition,
in vapors of the anode material. The arc is ignited between a heated cathode provided with a Whenelt cylinder and the
anode which is a crucible containing the material to be evaporated [1]. We have used the COMSOL software to simulate
the Be deposition phenomena using the TVA method.

A numerical simulation of the phenomena in Be plasma

Nano-structured C-Ni coatings were prepared using the thermionic vacuum arc method and tribological properties were evaluated in order to obtain carbon-metal layers to act as solid lubricants. The C-Ni films prepared by TVA method were characterised as a metallic complex of nano-crystals (5 nm average diameter) surrounded by carbon amorphous structures with a strong graphitisation tendency. The coefficients of friction of the coatings, measured using a CSM ball-on-disc tribometer, were in the range of 0.19-0.27 3-5 times lower than the uncoated substrates.

Low friction properties of nano-structured C-Ni films prepared by thermionic vacuum arc method

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Low friction properties of nano-structured C-Ni films prepared by thermionic vacuum arc method