Hydrogenation and Dehydrogenation Properties of [AlN-Pd]/Y and [AlOx-Pd]/[AlN-Pd]/Y Films

We report hydrogenation and dehydrogenation properties of the [AlN-Pd]/Y and [AlOx-Pd]/[AlN-Pd]/Y films. The tAIN-Pd] and [AlOx-Pd]/[AIN-Pd] composite cap layers were deposited on yttrium layers by a rf-magnetron sputtering method. The cap layers were used to protect the Y layers from oxidation. Electrical resistivity of the films was measured during a few cycles of hydrogen loading and unloading in order to monitor the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of the Y layers. As repeating the cycles, the amplitude of resistivity change was gradually reduced for the [AlOx-Pd]/[AlN-Pd]/Y film. On the other hand, the [AlOx-Pd]/[AlN-Pd] protective layer showed much better stability against the high temperature steam than the [AlN-Pd] layer.