1. Sputtering in a neutral atmosphere

It was in 1853 that Grove first observed the phenomenon of cathode sputtering, which occurs when an electrical discharge is established under reduced inert gas pressure, with the formation of a thin layer of cathode material on the surface of the anode. It is only in the last thirty years, however, that progress in understanding the physical and physicochemical phenomena involved, and in technological advances in control equipment and generators, have led to the industrial development of this technique for the synthesis of metallic or ceramic coatings.