Reactive beam assisted coating (IBAD) of carbides at low temperatures is difficult with conventional IBAD hardware because no convenient ion source of carbon exists. Carbides are very useful coating materials with superior hardness properties and in the case of SiC, exceptional oxidation resistance. Carbide coating would be more widely used commercially if more deposition techniques other than high temperature chemical deposition or sputtering were available. A method is proposed to produce an intense low energy ion beam of carbon that is particularly well suited for reactive IBAD coating of carbides. The general technique will be demonstrated using a Silicon carbide coating.
