Preparation of hydrogen storage alloy thin films by intense pulsed ion-beam evaporation

Titanium iron (TiFe) is widely known as an intermetallic compound, which shows hydrogen storage characteristics. In the past, Ti-Fe thin films have been tried to prepare by sputtering methods, but crystallized thin films have not been prepared yet. The preparation of crystallized TiFe thin films has been attempted by intense pulsed ion-beam evaporation. Using the Ti-50at.%Fe target, thin films deposited on soda lime glass substrates have been found to be mixed phases of TiFe and TiFe2. Thin films deposited on Si(100) substrates consist of an amorphous phase. By using the Ti-40at.%Fe target, a thin film of single phase TiFe has been successfully prepared on a soda lime glass substrate. Preparation of the crystallized, single-phase TiFe thin film is believed to be the first in the world. Even after hydrogenation treatments, the microstructures of the thin films were kept.