A dc cylindrical magnetron sputtering device is designed and its characteristics are studied. The device consists of two copper cylinders with 1.5 and 5 cm in radius and 20 cm in length. A magnetic coil mounted around the outer cylinder generates an axial magnetic field up to 550 G. The effect of different magnetic field on the ionization rate of the discharge is observed. It is shown that the electrical behavior of the discharge strongly depends on the values of the magnetic field and shows an optimum value at which the power absorbed by the plasma is maximum. The effect of different pressure on the ionization rate is also studied and the results are reported.
