Ion beam analysis of oxidation and hydrogenation of switchable mirrors

Thin films of Y, La or rare earth (RE) hydrides exhibit a metal insulator t ransition between their di- and trihydride phase. After H loading lateral d iffusion samples of these materials contain an overview of all hydride phas es present in the thin film phase diagram. In this paper the thin film YHx system will be investigated. The unexpected presence of a lateral oxygen pr ofile in the YHx sample necessitates a careful interpretation of local hydr ogen concentration differences. In this paper the potential of ion beam ana lysis will be discussed with respect to the investigation of oxidation and hydrogenation of YHx switchable mirrors. The results of the measurements wi ll be discussed in terms of differences between bulk- and thin-film-phase d iagrams of YHx. The experimental methods used are H-1 (He-4, H-1)He-4 elast ic recoil detection at 5 MeV and O-16(He-4, He-4)O-16 resonant backscatteri ng around 3.036 MeV. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.