Publications

Cubic erbium trihydride thin films

Adams, D.P.; Rodriguez, Marko A.; Romero, Juan A.; Kotula, Paul G.; Banks, J.C.

High-purity, erbium hydride thin films have been deposited onto α-Al 2O 3 and oxidized Si by reactive sputtering methods. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and elastic recoil detection show that films deposited at temperatures of 35, 150 and 275°C have a composition of 3H:1Er. Erbium trihydride films consist of a face-centered cubic erbium sub-lattice with a lattice parameter in the range of 5.11-5.20 Å. The formation of cubic ErH 3 is intriguing, because previous studies demonstrate a single trihydride phase with a hexagonal metal sub-lattice. The formation of a stable, cubic trihydride phase is attributed to a large, in-plane stress resulting from ion beam sputter deposition. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.