The Paton Welding Journal, 2026, №09

2026 №09 (04)

DOI of Article 10.37434/tpwj2026.09.05

2026 №09 (06)

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The Paton Welding Journal, 2026, #9, 48-55 pages

Technological aspects of electron beam evaporation of magnesium in vacuum

O.V. Gornostai, V.O. Osokin, S.Ye. Lytvyn, L.A. Krushynska, M.A. Khokhlov, J.A. Khokhlova

E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the NASU. 11 Kazymyr Malevych Str., 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine. E-mail: gornostai.o.v@gmail.com

Abstract
Magnesium coatings are regarded as a promising class of biodegradable functional layers for modifying the surfaces of implant materials owing to the ability of magnesium ions to stimulate bone tissue regeneration and osseointegration. This paper presents the results of study into the formation characteristics of magnesium films (coatings) with a thickness of 0.6–3.6 μm deposited by electron beam physical vapour deposition (EB‒PVD) in vacuum. The EB‒PVD method ensures high-purity films and precise control of deposition parameters. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the evaporator design and the geometry of the directed vapor flux on the structure, morphology and elemental composition of magnesium films deposited on the surface of silicon and copper substrates by evaporation from open (crucible-type) and channel-type tungsten evaporators. The temperature of the substrates varied from 40 to 98 °C, while the deposition time ranged from 60 to 720 s. The use of a channel-type evaporator was found to provide a more stable evaporation process and localized deposition of coatings with improved efficiency of utilizing the evaporated material. It was demonstrated that the orientation of the substrate relative to the magnesium vapor flux significantly affects the morphology of the formed films: finer-grained structures with a narrow grain size distribution are formed on vertical substrates, while a coarser-grained microstructure is formed on horizontal substrates. Reducing the evaporation rate to 1.24 mg∙s‒1 in combination with a directed vapor flux was shown to promote the formation of magnesium films exhibiting a homogeneous submicron microstructure with an average grain size of about 0.3 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of a crystalline magnesium phase with a predominant (002) orientation, which is expected to have a positive effect on the corrosion behavior of the coatings.
Keywords: electron beam, vapor phase, magnesium, silicon, copper, coatings

Received: 22.06.2026
Received in revised form: 06.07.2026
Accepted: 30.09.2026

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Suggested Citation

O.V. Gornostai, V.O. Osokin, S.Ye. Lytvyn, L.A. Krushynska, M.A. Khokhlov, J.A. Khokhlova (2026) Technological aspects of electron beam evaporation of magnesium in vacuum. The Paton Welding J., 09, 48-55. https://doi.org/10.37434/tpwj2026.09.05

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