Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and related diagnostic techniques are well-known for their excellent time- and space-resolution, as well as for high selectivity resulting in unique possibilities for detection of both atomic and molecular species in various gaseous discharges. The capability to probe the particles in their ground and/or metastable states, along with the multi-photon excitation possibilities largely increases the applications of these techniques in the area of low-temperature plasmas. In particular, LIF combined with absorption spectroscopy, as well as with the high-speed and high-sensitivity imaging devices represents a flexible plasma characterization tool for studying time-resolved evolution of the particle density, their velocity distribution, population of energy states, two-dimensional density distributions, etc. The evolution of these physical parameters is rather weakly studied in the field of magnetron sputtering discharges; meanwhile they are the key factors in understanding the physics, chemistry, and plasma-surface interaction phenomena in these discharges. In this chapter the main principles and applications of LIF and related diagnostic techniques in direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS), as well as in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges are overviewed. The presented results are mainly related to the behavior of density of sputtered species in the discharge volume, the velocity distribution of these particles, as well as to imaging of the ground state and metastable discharge species in the magnetron sputtering discharges.
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