High-current impulse magnetron discharge with liquid target

Impulse magnetron with a liquid cathode operated in copper vapour without the working gas has been experimentally investigated. Stable discharge regimes were obtained through applying the high-current pulses over a 1.5 kW direct current magnetron discharge operated on a liquid copper target. The current-voltage characteristic of the discharge as well as the temporal evolution of the impulse current-voltage relations have been acquired for a constant magnetic field value on the target's surface. The pulsed Langmuir probe diagnostics has been utilized to measure the plasma parameters along the symmetry axis. The pulsed probe diagnostics revealed strong dependences of electron temperature and plasma density on the distance to the target's surface. Electron temperature measured 5 cm away from the target did not exceed 2 eV, and reduced down to 1 eV at longer distances. The maximum value of plasma density along the target's centerline was 2 × 1013 cm− 3, as measured at a distance of 5 cm.