IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D: APPLIED PHYSICS J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 (2008) 132001 (4pp) doi:10.1088/0022-3727/41/13/132001 FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION Re–Cr–Ni high-temperature resistant coatings on Cu substrates prepared by thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) method C C Surdu Bob 1 , C P Lungu 1 , I Mustata 1 and L Frunza 2 1 National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Bucharest, Romania 2 National Institute for Materials Physics, Bucharest, Romania Received 9 April 2008, in final form 15 May 2008 Published 6 June 2008 Online at stacks.iop.org/JPhysD/41/132001 Abstract Re–Cr–Ni composite metallic films were prepared using an original plasma deposition method developed at INFLPR, Bucharest, called thermionic vacuum arc (TVA). The method is based on the evaporation of a metal followed by ignition of a plasma in the vapours. These three-component films/alloy films were deposited using three simultaneous TVA plasma sources in the same vacuum chamber. Surface corrosion at temperatures up to 1000 ◦ C was found not to take place in these Re–Cr–Ni alloy films as shown by thermogravimetric analysis. The current results demonstrate that the TVA method is a promising candidate tool for the synthesis of multiple compound films. Films of uniform and controlled composition can be simultaneously obtained using this method. Moreover, high melting point metals can be involved in these superalloy films, thus leading to applications in extremely hot conditions such as turbine blades and aircraft parts. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version) 1. Introduction Efforts to increase the entry temperatures in gas turbines and in aircraft engines are of considerable importance for increasing the efficiencies and lifetime of such devices. Nickel-based superalloys are currently used in turbine blades and jet engines [1]. The inclusion of refractory metals in these superalloys is continuously researched due to their high melting temperature. For example, the addition of rhenium to inconel alloys increases its creep resistance [2]. Apart from bulk superalloys, thin films to be used as protective coatings in parts of gas turbines and aircraft engines are also being investigated [3]. Such films need to have good high-temperature resistance to corrosion and oxidation [4, 5], good long-term stability, good mechanical properties [6] and, moreover, need to have an industrially scalable production method. In this respect, refractory metals are important constituents of the coating. For example, rhenium addition decreases the oxidation rate of the superalloy coating and improves its mechanical properties [7]. This paper proposes an original plasma method for the deposition of quality high-temperature resistant coatings to be used in extremely hot environments. The deposition method has much potential for applications in this field, due to its unique capabilities which will be explained in the following. The thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) plasma has definite advantages over the known plasma deposition techniques. Such important advantages relevant to the specific application of high-temperature resistant films include the following: no gas precursors or carrier gases needed—thus, no gas inclusions in the films, deposition of films of high melting temperature materials such as carbon, rhenium, nickel, tungsten and chromium [8–13] and the possibility of sustaining different TVA plasmas simultaneously in the same vacuum chamber and with no interference between them. The above materials are indeed difficult to process due to the fact that no crucible material can resist the high temperature necessary for their melting and evaporation: in this respect, the TVA is unique since a crucible is not needed to provide the vapours required 0022-3727/08/132001+04$30.00 1 © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK