Effect of Annealing on the Defect Structure, Desorption Properties, and Structural-Phase State in Nanoscale Multilayer Zr/Nb Structures after Hydrogenation

The effect of annealing after hydrogenation on the defect structure, desorption properties, and structural-phase state of nanoscale multilayer Zr/Nb systems has been studied. Nanoscale multilayer structures based on Zr/Nb were fabricated using a magnetron sputtering system with an individual layer thickness of 50 nm. To analyze changes in the defect structure, one of the techniques of positron annihilation spectroscopy was used, Doppler broadening spectroscopy with a positron beam of variable energy for layer-by-layer positron implantation in Zr/Nb. The depth distribution of elements before and after hydrogenation was studied using glow discharge optical emission spectrometry. Analysis of changes in the structural-phase state was carried out using X-ray diffraction analysis. Thermal desorption spectroscopy was used to study the desorption of hydrogen from Zr/Nb, and the activation energy of hydrogen release was calculated by constructing Arrhenius plots. The forms of the Arrhenius plots differ from their usual form, which is associated with a nontypical distribution of hydrogen in Zr/Nb.