Degradation Studies on Erbium Dideuteride Thin Films

Rare earth metals are used as hydrogen isotope occluders and function as electrodes in neutron generator tubes. In this study, erbium dideuteride thin films have been quantitatively measured for purity in order to establish the deleterious effects resulting from film processing. These processes include deposition, hydriding, and neutron tube vacuum anneal. The data taken reveal that ∼0.02 mg/cm2 erbium metal is unavailable as the hydride due to surface oxidation and interfacial interactions between occluder metal and substrate.