Method of determination of palladium concentration for C-Pd nanostructural films as a function of film thickness, roughness and topography

In this paper a method of determination of Pd in a carbon-palladium film (C–Pd film) deposited on a quartz substrate is presented. This method is based on energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and all experiments were performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with EDX system. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out for C–Pd films prepared by PVD method in different technological conditions. It was shown that results of the experiments depended on the structural model, film thickness and electron beam energy used for Pd content calculation. This method enabled us to conclude on the homogeneity of palladium distribution in the whole volume of carbonaceous matrix, depending on the parameters of PVD process. Additionally, these studies showed that a different palladium concentration in C–Pd films had a significant impact on their topography and morphology.