Patent ID: 8038858

Claim:
An apparatus for the deposition of an evaporated material from a stationary cathode onto a stationary cylindrical anode using a plasma, said apparatus comprising: an enclosed chamber including a vacuum pump and a variable pressure gas source; said cathode formed from a first conductive material and placed about an axis; said cylindrical anode formed from a second conductive material, said cylindrical anode placed at a positive electrical potential with respect to said cathode, said anode having a substantially constant inner radius which is greater than an outer radius of said cathode; a particle trap having a plurality of radial vanes, each said radial vane formed by the locus of points between a start point located at a first radial distance from said axis and an ending point at a second radius greater than the first radius from said axis, said start point and said end point forming an included angle with respect to said axis, where said included angle is selected to cause a particle traveling on a linear path from said cathode to said anode to collide with and be trapped by one of said plurality of radial vanes; where adjacent said radial vanes of said particle trap carry a steering current travelling substantially parallel to said axis and of opposite polarity on adjacent said radial vanes; a magnetic field generator providing a uniform and unidirectional magnetic field parallel to said axis over the extent of said anode; whereby a voltage applied between said cylindrical anode and said cathode causes said plasma to form substantially radially between said cathode and said anode, said plasma thereafter moving helically along the extent of said axis under the influence of said magnetic field, thereby causing ions with curved trajectories from said plasma to deposit on said anode and macroparticles with linear trajectories to deposit on said particle trap.