Boron carbide coating deposition on tungsten substrates from atomic fluxes of boron and carbon

A device used for both coating deposition and material testing is presented in the paper. By using lock chambers, sputtering targets are easily exchanged with sample holder thus allowing testing of deposited samples with high power density electron or ion beams. Boron carbide coatings were deposited on tungsten samples. Methods of increasing coating adhesion are described in the paper. 2 μm boron carbide coatings sustained 450 heating cycles from 100 to 900 C. Ion beam tests have shown satisfactory results.