To make it possible to form films even on the bottom of the fine holes on a substrate by constituting a magnet in such a manner as to have a specific magnetic field distribution on a target surface so that discharge is started with a specific low pressure.

A vacuum vessel 1 is provided with a discharge gas introducing port 2 and a vacuum discharge port 3. The target 4 of the material desired to be formed as films is mounted on a target electrode 5 in the vacuum vessel 1. The substrate 6 is mounted at a substrate holder 7 so as to face the target 4. The target electrode 5 is connected to the negative pole of a DC power source 8. The rear surface of the target electrode 5 is provided with a magnet 9. The magnet 9 is so constituted as to have such magnetic field distribution that the horizontal magnetic field intensity in the position where the perpendicular magnetic field intensity on the target 4 surface attains 0 is ≥140 gauss and that the perpendicular magnetic field intensity in the position where the horizontal magnetic field intensity attains 0 is ≥60 gauss. The start of the discharge under a low pressure of 10-2 Pa order is thereby made possible. As a result, the atoms made incident diagonally on the substrate are decreased.