If you can't get to 2kv, you probably also have gas purity issues, so that's a good thing to fix up no matter what you do. You don't want the stuff to be oxidizing on the way to the substrate!
(unless you are trying to do reactive sputtering, but purity is just as much an issue with that)
My rule here is to try and get to factor 100 or so better vacuum than the process requires for that reason. You'll be able to do both sputter and evap in the same rig with a little planning.
Sounds like your TIG welder is better at that than mine, mine goes kind of crazy trying that with it and isn't really meant to run that low a voltage.
What I did for evap was prep a chemistry ring-stand to go in the tank (Cu plated it so it wouldn't outgas so much). I added a shelf low on it to hold a cut off coffee can to catch dropped metal, and to keep from evaporating on to the whole tank -- I just cut holes in the side for the high current feedthrough rods to enter, and the cut off top of the can matches the underside of the ring-stand. I put my substrate on various jigs that sit on top of that, again, to keep from depositing the stuff all over places I don't want it to go. One time of ruining every feedthrough in the tank was enough to learn that one.
Here's a pic without the shields.
- Simple evap
This is using a 3 wire tungsten heater from Lesker, one of the few things they sell that is cheap.
I then made some improvments and used a different type of heater that I have since added a shutter to, which helps quality -- you can preheat and outgas things before letting anything hit the target, then flip the shutter open and shut quicker than turning the heater on and off -- so as to get more control over coating thickness.
Here's a pic of the thing while I was building it.
- Fancy source
I added a simple shutter, a small piece of sheet metal on a baling wire axle, and a couple small solenoids to flip it open and closed. This will let you deposit up to 3 different things in one run.
With the shutter, you find that anything reactive takes the vacuum down a lot better on heating it, then you flip the shutter open for only about 1 second to get your deposition done.
Of course, for best results, you need to get to e-6 millibar vacuum or better on most things, or you're going to get oxides in the mix.
There I am lucky -- after years of frustration, I finally just bought a couple turbo systems new, and nearly all my vacuum issues are now elsewhere. I've built one successful fusor with a diff pump, but it's so much more trouble to run that I won't bother doing that again -- that system will probably wind up doing depositions. Of course, I caught all kinds of crap from the scrounger crowd for just putting down the long bucks, instead of spending more years scrounging, but hey -- I ain't gonna live forever, and they don't count the costs of scrounging, time, gas money, buying defective stuff, you eat and pay rent while waiting, etc.
So the plan here is to scrounge when possible -- keep an eye out for any good deals and jump on them, but if something critical-path can't be scrounged, just buy the doggone thing new.
As always, click the pix for a larger version. This board is nice that way -- it does all that for you. I still use about 1024 pixel on a side, and use Gimp to scale and compress them better, it's just a good habit to get into.
Posting as just me, not as the forum owner. Everything I say is "in my opinion" and YMMV -- which should go for everyone without saying.