One embodiment of the present invention is a system for depositing films on a substrate. This systems includes a vacuum chamber; a linear discharge tube housed inside the vacuum chamber; a magnetron configured to generate a microwave power signal that can be applied to the linear discharge tube; a power supply configured to provide a signal to the magnetron; and a pulse control connected to the power supply. The pulse control is configured to control the duty cycle of the plurality of pulses, the frequency of the plurality of pulses, and/or the contour of the plurality of pulses.