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Sputtering pressure dependence of hydrogen-sensing effect of palladium films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Chung Wo Ong  and
Yu Ming Tang
Chung Wo Ong*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics and Materials Research Center, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
Yu Ming Tang
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Physics and Materials Research Center, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The electrical resistivity ρ of palladium (Pd) films prepared by using magnetron sputtering at different pressures φ ranging from 2 to 15 mTorr showed very different hydrogen (H)-induced response. This reaction is because the mean free path of the particles in vacuum changes substantially with φ, such that the structure of the deposits is altered accordingly. A film prepared at a moderate φ value of 6 mTorr has a moderate strength. After a few hydrogenation-dehydrogenation cycles, some cracks are generated because of the great difference in the specific volumes of the metal and hydride phases. Breathing of the cracks in subsequent switching cycles occurred, which led to the response gain of ρ, defined as the resistivity ratio of the dehydrogenated-to-hydrogenated states during a cycle, to increase to 17. This result demonstrates the attractiveness of using the Pd films in H2 detection application. The H-induced resistive response of the films prepared at other φ values was found to be much smaller.

Keywords

HydrogenationPdSputtering
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 24 , Issue 6 , June 2009 , pp. 1919 - 1927
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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