A.W. Oniszczuk, W. Gajewski, P. Różański, K. Ruda, P. Ozimek, TRUMPF Huettinger Sp. z o.o., Zielonka, Poland
Over the past 25 years, High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS) has evolved from a laboratory plasma concept into an industrial-ready production tool, enabled by advances in power-supply architecture, pulse control, and discharge stability. While HIPIMS has long been recognized for its ability to generate dense, adherent, and high-quality coatings, its early industrial adoption was limited by challenges related to power delivery, unstable discharges, and limited controllability under rapidly changing plasma conditions. Initial HIPIMS implementations relied on simple capacitor-based pulse generation, which constrained pulse shaping flexibility and repeatability, particularly when scaling from laboratory systems to industrial-size targets.
Advances in power electronics and digital control over the last two decades have fundamentally changed how HIPIMS is implemented in production environments. Modern HIPIMS power supplies decouple pulse characteristics from hardware constraints and plasma impedance, enabling precise control of pulse timing, peak current, and delivered energy even at extreme operating conditions. Improved arc detection and suppression, combined with robust peak-power handling and synchronization capabilities, allow stable operation in regimes that were previously considered challenging for HIPIMS. These developments address key industrial requirements such as reliability, scalability, and integration into complex coating tools operating with multiple plasma sources.
This presentation provides a practical, application-oriented overview of how these technological advances have transformed HIPIMS into a reliable production technology. By focusing on controllability, discharge stability, and seamless tool-level integration, industrial-ready HIPIMS power platforms bridge the gap between coating performance and manufacturing efficiency. The showcase is intended to help users understand not only what HIPIMS can deliver today, but also how modern power-supply design has removed many of the historical barriers that once limited its use in industrial coating applications.