Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
THIN SOLID FILMS, cilt.848, ss.1-10, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study presents the preparation of palladium (Pd) – gold (Au) alloy thin films with thicknesses ranging from 2 nm to 100 nm on glass substrates using the magnetron sputtering method, and the investigation of their resistive hydrogen sensing properties as a function of annealing temperature, film thickness, annealing atmosphere, and gas concentration. From the structural analysis results, it is observed that the crystallite size and the crystallinity increase with annealing temperature. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis reveal that the Pd/Au ratio of the deposited films is close to that of the sputtering target, which is 30:70 atomic percent. As expected, the resistance of PdAu alloy films decreases as the film thickness increases. Moreover, although the resistance of the as deposited PdAu thin films is very high, it decreases significantly with annealing under both high-purity dry air and high-purity argon flow. This behavior can be explained by structural rearrangement. The sensing mechanism of PdAu alloy films can be attributed to lattice expansion in a hydrogen environment, which closes the intergranular gaps in the film and leads to a decrease in electrical resistance. The optimal sensing performance is achieved for the 5 nm thick PdAu film annealed at 250°C in dry air, whereas higher annealing temperatures and thicker films reduce the sensor response.