Deposition of Tungsten Films in Penning's Arc Dischardge

Results of investigation of Penning's discharge with a probe inserted into the centre of the discharge gap through the anode hole are described. It is found that the discharge current decreases and the probe becomes heated if its potential is negative up to 1 kV. If the discharge current exceeds 80 mA and the potential of the probe is of 1.15 kV for tungsten or molybden probes, the discharge becomes of arc mode. It is found that there exist minimal values of discharge and probe currents necessary for sustaiining arc mode. Results of the experiments are accounted for by the emergence of thermoemission of the probe. It is shown that intensive sputtering of the probe in arc discharge enables us to increase the rate of deposition of tungsten films by an order as compared to glow charge.