Abstract: The invention relates to a vacuum arc evaporator with which a wide variety of substrates can be provided with various coatings or to which various systems of layers can be applied. The invention is intended to achieve an improvement in the quality of the layer, with increased material utilization and higher coating rate. A vacuum arc evaporator with a cathode of electrically conducting material and an anode for generating a plasma arranged in an evacuable housing is used for this purpose. The plasma is generated by an evaporation of the cathode material by means of arc discharge. The anode is enclosed by an insulator and is otherwise surrounded by cathode material on all sides.