In situ Optical and Stress Characterization of Alloyed PdxAu1-x Hydrides

PdxAu1–x alloys have recently shown great promise for next-generation optical hydrogen sensors due to their increased chemical durability while their optical sensitivity to small amounts of hydrogen gas is maintained. However, the correlation between chemical composition and the dynamic optical behavior upon hydrogenation/dehydrogenation is currently not well understood. A complete understanding of this relation is necessary to optimize future sensors and nanophotonic devices. Here, we quantify the dynamic optical, chemical, and mechanical properties of thin film PdxAu1–x alloys as they are exposed to H2 by combining in situ ellipsometry with gravimetric and stress measurements. We demonstrate the dynamic optical property dependence of the film upon hydrogenation and directly correlate it with the hydrogen content up to a maximum of 7 bar of H2. With this measurement, we find that the thin films exhibit their strongest optical sensitivity to H2 in the near-infrared. We also discover higher hydrogen-loadin...