Hydrogen uptake and distribution in a multi-layered systems and related effects

The interaction of hydrogen with materials is relevant to a wide range of application and research fields, including fusion research, development of hydrogen storage devices, and thin layer silicon-on-insulator transfer processes. In the case of deposited thin films and multilayers (MLs), hydrogen is well known as a modifier of optical, electronic, magnetic, and structural properties. Depending on the intended application and operating environment the effects induced can be beneficial of highly detrimental. We present a detailed investigation of the uptake and distribution of hydrogen in Mo/Si MLs. Hydrogen concentrations are measured with nm depth resolution and correlated with the details of the irradiating flux. Hydrogen-induced blistering of the MLs is observed. Both the uptake and distribution of hydrogen and the nature and extent of the associated blistering are demonstrated to be highly dependent on the precise exposure conditions, in particular the irradiating flux composition