Study on Hydriding Kinetics, Structural Properties and Electrical Conductivity of D.C. Magnetron Sputtered Mg/Al Thin Films

Mg/Al bilayer thin films were successfully deposited by using D.C. magnetron sputtering technique. To study the effect of hydrogenation on structural, optical and electrical properties of Mg/Al thin films, the hydrogenation of the annealed thin films was done under different hydrogen pressure (15, 30 & 30psi). The structural properties of the films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy and decrease in intensity of Raman peaks with increasing hydrogen pressure was observed; this typically confirms the existence of hydrogen in Mg/Al thin films. The thin film is of semiconducting nature and it was found that the electrical conductivity of the film decreases with increasing hydrogen pressure applied. In the hydriding kinetics of the films, it was seen that the resistivity increased along with hydrogen absorption time. Eventually, it attains the equilibrium stage indicating the hydrogen absorption in the thin films. The rate of absorption of hydrogen increases with the pressure of hydrogen over different time ranges and decreases with the absorption of hydrogen over time.