Mass-to-Charge Ion Composition of Multi-Component Beam Plasma and Properties of Coatings Produced by Electron-Beam Evaporation of YSZ Ceramics Using Fore-Vacuum Electron Source

The mass-to-charge composition of ions of a multicomponent beam plasma formed by irradiation with a continuous focused electron beam with an energy of 3–11 keV of a refractory dielectric target made of zirconium ceramics, partially stabilized by yttrium dioxide (YSZ) in an atmosphere of a working gas (helium) of a forevacuum pressure range (about 5–6 Pa) was experimentally studied. Using a quadrupole mass analyzer, it was found that at a power sufficient for intensive evaporation of the target, peaks of singly charged ions of yttrium, zirconium and their oxides appear in the ion mass spectrum, with amplitudes comparable to the amplitudes of helium and residual atmosphere gases, which indirectly indicates a high proportion of target material ions in such plasma. Evaporating targets with different yttria content, we found that the increase of molar percentage of Y2O3 in the synthesized coating from 1 to 20% results in proportional growth of micro-hardness (1.0–2.2 GPa), elastic modulus (24–44 GPa), wear and wear rate of the coating.