The effect of atomic hydrogen flow on electrical resistance of the transition metal films

On using of nuclear reaction analysis, X-ray analysis, electron microscopy, the mechanisms of structure and phase composition change of thin vanadium films at treatment in a flow consisting of molecular and atomic hydrogen (AH) have been studied. A comparative analysis on regularities of the film saturation with hydrogen and its resistance changing was carried out. It has been settled that the resistance dependence on hydrogen concentration in the case of thin film hydrogenised in AH flow differs from the analogous dependence for the bulk material hydrogenised in an atmosphere of molecular hydrogen in the conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium. Nevertheless, the found peculiarities of thin film resistance dependence on hydrogenation time, the same as in the case of bulk material, are determined by formation of vanadium hydride -phase in the film. It is shown that with transient metal films it is possible to measure AH flow densities under reduced pressure of gas (10^-1 to 10^-3 Pa). The principle of measurement is based on dependence analysis of the film resistance increment determined by hydrogen solubilization in the film versus exposure time in AH flow. The suggested measurement method is characterized by high selectivity to AH allowing measurement of partial density of atomic flow over the range from 5×10¹³ up to 10¹⁶ at /cm²/s in a mixed atomic–molecular flow. The sensor made on the basis of this method can find applications in microelectronic techniques where semiconductor treatment by atomic hydrogen flows is employed.