Charge state distributions of Al and Cr cathodic arc plasmas

Ion charge state distributions of pulsed arcs have been measured for Al and Cr cathodes in vacuum and different background gases. The distance from the cathode to the extraction grid of the time-of-flight spectrometer was varied, and measurements were repeated to assess the statistical fluctuations that are typical for arc operation. The results represent a baseline for future studies that aim to include composite cathodes in reactive environments as used for synthesising state-of-the-art hard coatings.