Impact excitation of MF magnetron discharge for PVD processes

A system for impact excitation of the MF magnetron discharge is presented. A thyratron pulser excited a ringing circuit, which, in turn, supplied power to the pulsed MF discharge. The discharge current oscillation frequency was 1.76 MHz, the impact excitation frequency was up to 8 kHz. The discharge operated at voltages of several kilovolts and current amplitudes up to a hundred amperes without sparking and arcing on the Ti electrodes in inert and reactive gas and generated large-volume plasma. The proposed power supply combines the advantages of the MF bipolar discharge mode and the conventional pulse modulation.