Balzers Aktiengesellschaft

Gunter Peter

Eugen Beck

Jurgen Ramm

Hugo Frei

Albert Zueger

A process and apparatus for producing a metal oxide layer which is selectively permeable to ions of a given class, comprises evacuating a vacuum chamber, evaporating metal particles in the chamber and imparting to the particles kinetic energy which is at 10 eV maximum, introducing oxygen into the chamber with a quantity of oxygen being controlled to deposit a metal oxide on a substrate in the chamber, while the substrate is maintained below 900.degree. C.

Process and apparatus for the production of a metal oxide layer

A cathode chamber (1) with a thermionic cathode (3) generates a low-voltage arc discharge in a vacuum treatment chamber (11). Arcing on wall portions of the treatment chamber (11) is prevented by providing a screen (20), operated so as to be electrically floating, in the region of a diaphragm (9), through which diaphragm (9) the discharge is drawn from the cathode chamber (1) into the treatment chamber (11). The discharge is ignited by impressing portions of the cathode chamber wall with the ignition potential, with respect to the potential of the cathode (3).

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Plons, Switzerland

Gunter Peter