Deposition and characterization of TiZrV-Pd thin films by dc magnetron sputtering*

TiZrV film is mainly applied in the ultra-high vacuum pipes of storage rings. Thin film coatings of palladium, which are added onto the TiZrV film to increase the service life of nonevaporable getters and enhance H2 pumping speed, were deposited on the inner face of stainless steel pipes by dc magnetron sputtering using argon gas as the sputtering gas. The TiZrV-Pd film properties were investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The grain size of TiZrV and Pd films were about 0.42–1.3 nm and 8.5–18.25 nm respectively. It was found that the roughness of TiZrV films is small, about 2–4 nm, but for Pd film it is large, about 17–19 nm. The PP At. % of Pd in TiZrV/Pd films varied from 86.84 to 87.56 according to the XPS test results.