Patent ID: 7977598

Claim:
A method of chemically reducing metal oxides to base metals on the surface of an at least one component comprising said metal oxides, the method comprising the steps of: providing the at least one component which is connected to a substrate as a target assembly wherein the substrate has at least one electrical potential selected from the group consisting of a grounded or a positive electrical potential; passing a gas mixture comprising a reducing gas through a remote ion generator comprising a gas inlet, a gas outlet in fluid communication with the gas inlet, an anode, a cathode, and a magnetic coil wherein the magnetic coil is interposed between the gas inlet and the gas outlet wherein the gas outlet is proximal to the target assembly; supplying energy to at least one of the cathode and the anode to generate electrons that attach to at least a portion of the reducing gas passing through the ion generator thereby forming a negatively charged reducing gas at the gas outlet; supplying energy to the magnetic coil to provide a magnetic field proximal to the negatively charged reducing gas; and contacting the target assembly with the negatively charged reducing gas to reduce the metal oxides on the at least one surface of the at least one component, wherein the pressure within the remote ion generator is from 1 to 20 atmospheres.