Abstract: An electric arc coating is comprised of a chamber with a chamber wall for receiving the substrates to be coated. The chamber can be evacuated and be optionally filled with a reaction gas or an inert gas. The device has at least one cathode connected to a first direct current source positioned within the chamber so as to be electrically insulated. The cathode is consumed by the electric arc. A second direct current source having a higher voltage than the first direct current source is connected with its negative pole to the substrates to be coated and is electrically insulated from the chamber. A first and a second anode are provided whereby the second anode is electrically insulated from the first anode and connected to a third current source. The positive poles of the first and the second current sources are connected to at least the first anode.

Abstract: A large surface cathode arrangement with a consumable cathode plate that is connected via an intermediate plate with high electrical and thermal conductivity to a base plate is provided. The arrangement is provided with cooling channels. Current supply conduits and current supply locations for uniformly distributing the electrical current density and the electrical potential within the cathode plate are furthermore provided which allow the consumption of the cathode plate to become more uniform. Preferably, three or more current supply conduits are connected to a plurality of current supply locations that are uniformly distributed over the base plate. The cooling channels are provided at the face of the intermediate plate which is facing the base plate so that a continuous wall of the intermediate plate is in contact with the cathode plate, thus contributing to the improvement of the current distribution. The cathode arrangement is especially suitable for coating apparatus according to the PVD principle.