Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles by a High Power Pulse Hollow Cathode

A novel plasma-based nanoparticle synthesis method was used for synthesizing copper nanoparticles. High power pulses were applied to a cylindrical hollow cathode providing a high density and a high degree of ionization of the sputtered material. The variation of the nanoparticle size distributions were analyzed from scanning electron microscopy images and studied with respect to varied pulse parameters, e.g., pulse width and peak current. It was found that the nanoparticle size can be changed in a range between 10 and 40 nm by varying the pulse parameters.