Rafael Sánchez¹, Hermann Curtins², Daniel Lundin^1,3
1Ionautics AB, Öjebyn, Sweden
²Swiss PVD coating AG, Grenchen, Switzerland
³Linköping University, Linköping Sweden
Over the past 25 years High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) has evolved into a mature PVD technology, increasingly adopted across the coating industry. Industrial implementation introduces additional challenges related to process stability, handling, hardware reliability and process development. The contribution from Ionautics is the latest HiPSTER 25 power supply, a state‑of‑the‑art HiPIMS unit featuring advanced process control capabilities, including integrated multi‑unit synchronization, efficient arc suppression, constant peak‑current mode, burst mode, and constant‑power operation.
In this work, we share experiences from integrating HiPSTER 25 units into the EXON 700 industrial PVD coating system from Swiss PVD.
Process development of CrAlN coatings was initiated and tested in a steel‑milling application, where early trials demonstrated encouraging performance. The best-performing coating variant matched the cutting performance of the current commercial benchmark. Our results underline the critical role of controlled process initiation in minimizing arcing events and maintaining stable deposition conditions. We also identified a strong sensitivity of plasma impedance to both gas composition and operating pressure. At low pressures and low reactive gas fractions, establishing genuine HiPIMS operation proved difficult, highlighting the narrow process window in these regimes. Finally, we outline current trends and ongoing industrial developments in HiPIMS technology, with particular attention to process stability, power‑delivery strategies, and the integration of advanced plasma diagnostics.