Possible mechanisms for the introduction of hydrogen into alpha-quartz during sweeping

Hydrogen-dissolving metallizations are used as sweeping electrodes to investigate possible mechanisms of hydrogen introduction into alpha-quartz during sweeping. The sweeping conditions were varied, and the increased hydrogen content of the quartz and the indiffusion of electrode metal were monitored. Experiments have confirmed that the introduction of hydrogen is not increased by using electrode metals such as Pd, V, and Ni, which readily dissolve; requires quartz-metal contact; does not correlate with Z-surface damage; and is not suppressed by reduction in field strengths. By contrast, electrode-metal indiffusion is increased by Z-surface damage and high electric fields. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) was used to determine the increased hydrogen content due to changes in sweeping conditions. The indiffusion of electrode metal was studied using Rutherford backscattering techniques.<>