Pt–Ti Alloy Coatings Deposited by DC Magnetron Sputtering: A Potential Current Collector at High Temperature

Abstract

Metallic platinum–titanium coatings were deposited by co-sputtering of two metallic Pt and Ti targets in pure argon atmosphere. The titanium concentrations varied from 0 to 47 atomic percent and were adjusted as a function of the current applied to the titanium target. The structural and chemical features of these films were assessed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All as-deposited coatings exhibit a perfect covering of the alumina pellets’ substrate surface. The coatings containing more than 4 at.% Ti are amorphous, whereas the others crystallize in the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure of platinum. After an annealing treatment under air for 2 h, all of the coatings adopt the fcc structure with a crystallization temperature depending on the titanium content. For titanium concentrations higher than 32 at.%, the TiO2 phase appears during the annealing treatment. For the smaller film thickness of Pt–Ti alloys (15 nm), the Ostwald ripening mechanism is observed by SEM increasing the annealing temperature regardless of the content of Ti. The film resistivity measured at room temperature is lower than 7 × 10−4 Ω·cm and increases with the temperature to achieve an insulating behavior (in air and reducing atmosphere Ar-H2 (90-10) at 1123 K the resistivity is ρ ≈ 10+36 Ω·cm). When the thickness of intermetallic Pt3Ti layer is higher than 50 nm, the coating is continuous and the resistivity is below 5 × 10−4 Ω·cm in air and in reducing atmosphere (Ar with 10% of H2) up to 1273 K.