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.