Improvement of hydrogen detection sensitivity of palladium film by in-plane compressive plastic deformation and application to hydrogen gas sensor

The hydrogen energy, which is environmentally friendly and does not emit carbon dioxide, has been attracting attention as an alternative fuel to the fossil fuel. In the shift to a hydrogen energy society, the highly sensitive hydrogen gas sensor has been required for the storage and management of hydrogen gas. In this study, we propose a film deposition method to induce the in-plane plastic deformation in the thin film and apply it to a hydrogen gas sensor, where the palladium film formed by this method is deposited on a thin quartz resonator. It is found that the sensor chip with the plastically deformed palladium film is about 1.5 times more sensitive than the conventional sensor chip and has high-speed response. The developed sensor is a novel device that can be used in an oxygen-free environment without any temperature compensation and constant heating.