PACVD， Ion enhanced chemical vapor deposition is a technique that uses glow discharge or additional heating elements to raise the temperature of a workpiece to a predetermined temperature in a highly vacuum environment, and then introduces an appropriate amount of reaction gas. The gas undergoes a series of chemical and plasma reactions to form a solid thin film on the surface of the workpiece. This technology uses low-temperature plasma (non-equilibrium plasma) as the energy source, and the workpiece is placed on the cathode of a low-pressure glow discharge. Due to the collision between particles generated by the glow discharge, intense gas ionization occurs, activating the reaction gas and causing cathode sputtering effect, providing a clean and highly active surface for depositing thin films.

When the temperature is below 200 ℃, the deposition of amorphous diamond hard alloy coating is extremely smooth and has good adhesion performance. Compared to PVD process, PACVD process applies deep plating power source, does not require cathode target material, and the workpiece does not need to rotate in the furnace. This process is a clean, pollution-free, reliable, and high-performance coating process. PACVD, also known as PECVD.

The PVD process uses a solid material to obtain the coating. The PACVD process uses a gas to obtain the coating. Gas, such as HMDSO (hexamethyldimethylsilyl ether), decomposes at approximately 200 °C under plasma action. Non-reactive gases, such as argon, deposit ions onto the workpiece surface and form very thin coatings. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are a prime example of PACVD technology, widely used in tribology and the automotive industry. This process allows us to use pulsed glow or high-frequency discharge for deposition at a low temperature of about 200 °C. The diamond-like coating generated by PACVD has a low friction coefficient and scalable surface hardness characteristics.