Arc technology in materials science.

The refractory materials which are at the same time to wear, corrosion and severe environments are developed in different fields of technology. Nitrides, carbides, borides, porous and diamond like structures belong to this family. These materials are used mainly as coatings deposited on the tools surface and machine parts to enlarge their durability and also as the decorative coatings. There are several deposition techniques of hard coatings developed both in the laboratory and on the industrial scale. Due to some achievements in the field of low temperature plasma, the industry has become more interested in arc evaporation both in vacuum and in low pressure, controlled gas atmosphere.