Abstract: Plasma producing method and apparatus wherein a plurality of high-frequency antennas are arranged in a plasma producing chamber, and a high-frequency power supplied from a high-frequency power supply device (including a power source, a phase controller and the like) is applied to a gas in the chamber from the antennas to produce inductively coupled plasma. At least some of the plurality of high-frequency antennas are arranged in a fashion of such parallel arrangement that the antennas successively neighbor to each other and each of the antennas is opposed to the neighboring antenna. The high-frequency power supply device controls a phase of a high-frequency voltage applied to each antenna, and thereby controls an electron temperature of the inductively coupled plasma.

Abstract: A method for synthesizing carbon nanocoils with high efficiency, by determining the structure of carbon nuclei that have been attached to the ends of carbon nanocoils and thus specifying a true catalyst for synthesizing carbon nanocoils is implemented. The catalyst for synthesizing carbon nanocoils according to the present invention is a carbide catalyst that contains at least elements (a transition metal element, In, C) or (a transition metal element, Sn, C), and in particular, it is preferable for the transition metal element to be Fe, Co or Ni. In addition to this carbide catalyst, a metal catalyst of (Fe, Al, Sn) and (Fe, Cr, Sn) are effective. From among these, catalysts such as Fe3InC0.5, Fe3InC0.5Snw and Fe3SnC are particularly preferable. The wire diameter and the coil diameter can be controlled by using a catalyst where any of these catalysts is carried by a porous carrier.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a carbon film-coated article comprising a substrate; a mixed layer formed on at least a part of the substrate, and composed of an element(s) constituting the substrate and tungsten; a tungsten film formed on the mixed layer; and a carbon film formed on the tungsten film. The invention provides a method of producing the carbon film-coated article, the method comprising the steps of: forming a mixed layer on at least a part of the substrate, the mixed layer being composed of an element(s) constituting the substrate and tungsten, forming a tungsten film on the mixed layer, and forming a carbon film on the tungsten film, wherein at least one of the mixing layer, the tungsten film and the carbon film is formed using a cathode material evaporated by arc discharge in a vacuum arc deposition apparatus having a vacuum arc evaporation source including the cathode.

Abstract: An ion beam irradiation apparatus is equipped with a plasma generator which generates a plasma and supplies it to a region in the vicinity of the upstream side of a substrate, thereby suppressing a charging up of a surface of the substrate, which results from an irradiation of the ion beam. The radio frequency electric source for supplying the plasma for generating the plasma to a plasma generator is a radio frequency electric source for producing a radio frequency electric power formed by amplitude modulating an original radio frequency signal.

Abstract: A circuit configuration in which a pair of conversion circuit parts for converting a power source voltage of a DC power source into an AC by two pairs of switching elements made of a full bridge configuration and a pair of transformers is used as inverter units. The n groups of the inverter units are provided with respect to the DC power source, and a secondary side of one transformer of each of the inverter units are connected in series among the n groups and also a secondary side of the other transformer are connected in series among the n groups.

Abstract: To prevent the film forming characteristic deterioration by a magnetic field of a magnetic filter to thereby make vacuum arc vapor deposition uniform, in the invention, plurality of magnets includes a terminal magnet closest to a plasma injection hole located at the other end of duct and specified magnets. The terminal magnet located closest to plasma injection hole may be set to incline to a plasma injection plane of the plasma injection hole. Further, at lease one of specified magnets may be inclined to the plasma injection plane. Further more, at least one of magnetic field generating coils may be formed with a plurality of electromagnetic coils, which are inclined at different angles with respect to a cross section of the duct. One of electromagnetic coils may be selectively energized by current on a basis of setting and controlling of deflection magnetic field generated by the magnetic filter.

Abstract: An ion source device includes an ion source having a filament for emitting thermoelectrons, a current measuring device for measuring current flowing through the filament, a voltage measuring device for measuring voltage across the filament, a resistance operation device for computing a resistance value of the filament by using the current and the voltage measured by the current and voltage measuring devices, and a prediction operation device for computing a time till the application limits of the filament or a time left till the application limits of the filament.

Abstract: An arc evaporation source constituting this vacuum arc deposition apparatus has a plurality of cathodes, a trigger electrode, a trigger drive unit, a shutter, and a shutter drive unit. The trigger drive unit changes over the position of the trigger electrode to thereby position the trigger electrode in front of a desired cathode, and connects/disconnects the trigger electrode to/from the desired cathode in the changed-over position. The shutter covers the fronts of all the cathodes except the desired cathode. The shutter drive unit moves the shutter to thereby change over the cathode not covered with the shutter. Further, the vacuum arc deposition apparatus has a changeover control unit for controlling the shutter drive unit and the trigger drive unit to thereby change over the cathode not covered with the shutter and to thereby position the trigger electrode in front of the cathode not covered with the shutter.

Abstract: An object such as an automobile part, an image forming apparatus part, a bicycle part, other machine parts, a sport article or its part, a toy or its part, or a rain article or its part has a portion to be in contact with a contact object. The contact portion is made of at least one kind of material selected from a group including polymer material such as resin or rubber as well as glass, and the contact portion has a surface entirely or partially coated with a carbon film (typically, a DLC film) having a wear resistance as well as at least one of a lubricity, a water repellency and a gas barrier property. The carbon film is formed on the object with a good adhesion.

Abstract: An amorphous carbon coated tool includes a base material of WC base cemented carbide, and an amorphous carbon film formed on this base material. The cobalt content in the base material is at least 12% by mass. The maximum thickness of the amorphous carbon film is at least 0.05 ?m and not more than 0.5 ?m at the cutting edge. The amorphous carbon film is deposited with graphite as the source material by physical vapor deposition in an atmosphere substantially absent of hydrogen. The amorphous carbon film coated tool superior in wear resistance and adhesion resistance is preferably applicable to rotating tools such as drills, end mills and reamers, indexable inserts used for milling cutters and turning tools, and cutting-off tools such as cutters, knives, or slitters.

Abstract: A thermoelectron generating source including a facial main cathode for emitting thermoelectrons by being heated from behind, a filament for heating the main cathode from behind to emit the thermoelectrons, an extraction electrode for extracting the thermoelectrons emitted from the main cathode under an electric field, the extraction electrode being provided near the front of the main cathode, and two deflecting electrodes and disposed on the left and right sides near the front of the extraction electrode to carry the extraction electrode. The potentials of the two deflecting electrodes are kept in a relation VL>VR?0, where the potential of one deflecting electrode is VL and the potential of the other deflecting electrode is VR.

Abstract: A vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus includes a plurality of magnetic coils for guiding a plasma produced by a vacuum arc evaporating source to the vicinity of a substrate in a film forming chamber by use of a deflection magnetic field. The vacuum arc vapor deposition apparatus further includes a coil power source for reversing a coil current to be fed to the magnetic coils, and a control unit for controlling the coil power source to reverse the flowing direction of the coil current.

Abstract: The particle implantation apparatus comprises a target, an ion beam source, a target scanning mechanism, a slit plate, a holder, and a holder scanning mechanism. The target is used for sputtering. The ion beam source applies an ion beam apparently like a sheet wider in the X direction onto the target so as to generate sputter particles. The target scanning mechanism mechanically scans the target in the Y direction crossing the X direction in reciprocating manner at a fixed angle with respect to the ion beam. The slit plate is used for passing sputter particles generated from the target and has a long slit extending in the X direction. The holder holds a substrate at the position where sputter particles having passed through the slit are incident. The holder scanning mechanism mechanically scans the holder in the Z direction crossing both the X and Y directions in reciprocating manner.

Abstract: A substrate chucking apparatus includes an electrostatic chuck for electrostatically chucking a substrate, and a DC power supply for applying a DC chucking voltage to the electrostatic chuck. An amplitude of the chucking voltage Vc is exponentially decreased with respect to a chucking time after an operation of chucking the substrate starts. Such a control of the chucking voltage variation is executed by a control device.

Abstract: The ion implanting method uses both reciprocatively scanning an ion beam in an X direction and reciprocatively mechanically driving a substrate in a Y direction orthogonal thereto. An implanting step of implanting ions separately for two implanted regions with different dose amounts of the substrate is executed plural times by changing at the center of the substrate a driving speed of the substrate. A rotating step of rotating the substrate around its center by a prescribed angle is executed once during each of the intervals between the respective implanting steps and while the ion beam is not applied to the substrate.

Abstract: A holder driving device has: a holder holding a substrate, a shaft supporting the holder, a driver for driving the shaft reciprocatingly and linearly in the direction along the shaft, a bearing unit having mechanical linear motion bearings for supporting the shaft thereon and having one or more stages of exhaust chambers surrounding the shaft; a vacuum pump for vacuum-pumping the exhaust chambers of the bearing unit; and a gas replacement mechanism for supplying dry gas, the humidity of which is lower than that of at least the surrounding atmosphere and the pressure of which is positive, from the outside of the bearing unit to at least the neighborhood of an atmosphere-side entrance portion of a gap between an end portion of the bearing unit one the side opposite to the vacuum vessel and the shaft passing the end portion, so as to replace the atmosphere near the entrance portion by the dry gas.

Abstract: The ion implanting apparatus is provided with a control device which controls the operating state thereof in a period during which ion implantation is not carried out for a substrate in the state in any mode selected from the above (a) twilight mode in which the flow rate of the raw gas supplied to an ion source and the power supplied from a plasma producing power source are reduced to values capable of keeping plasma production in the ion source, (b) magnet-off mode in which in addition to the state in the twilight mode, the outputs from an energy separating magnet power source, scanning magnet power source and beam paralleling magnet power source are stopped, and (c) shut-down mode in which the supply of the raw gas is stopped and the outputs from the power sources are stopped.

Abstract: This ion source is set up to satisfy a relation L<3.37B−1(VA)×10−6 where the arc voltage applied between a plasma production vessel 2 and a filament 8 is VA[V], the magnetic flux density of a magnetic field 19 within the plasma production vessel 2 is B[T], and the shortest distance from a most frequent electron emission point 9 located almost at the tip center of the filament 8 to a wall face of the plasma production vessel 2 is L[m].

Abstract: An ion source device includes an ion source having a filament for emitting thermoelectrons, a current measuring device for measuring current flowing through the filament, a voltage measuring device for measuring voltage across the filament, a resistance operation device for computing a resistance value of the filament by using the current and the voltage measured by the current and voltage measuring devices, and a prediction operation device for computing a time till the application limits of the filament or a time left till the application limits of the filament.

Abstract: The ion implantation apparatus deals with an ion beam as a charged particle beam and has an accelerating tube 8 incorporating an electrostatic lens for converging/diverging it. The control of the electrostatic lens is carried out as follows. The swept ion beam 4 is received by a single Faraday cup 46 to measure the beam quantity I(n) and the beam width WD(p) of the ion beam 4. The evaluated values of the beam quantity and beam width with respect to prescribed standards are calculated. These evaluated values are assigned weights to calculate a unified evaluated value. The focusing voltage Vf applied to the electrostatic lens with the accelerating tube 8 is controlled so that the unified evaluated value is increased. A waveform shaping controller 50 and beam controller 54 constitute a device for making such control.