Corrosion characteristics of Al and Cu thin films have been studied in cyclic fog tests using tap water fog and fog created with 0.1% NaCl solution in tap water. Likewise, their corrosion features have been analyzed in continuous immersion testing in the laboratory in distilled water, tap water, in 0.1% NaCl and 3.5% NaCl solutions in distilled water. The corrosion potentials and the corrosion currents of these thin films change and reach steady state values after some time. However, steady state is not realized in 3.5% NaCl solutions. The corrosion current density data have been used to calculate lifetime of 1 urn thick thin films of Al and Cu in the various tests, and assuming that the fog test data would hold under normal exposure conditions, life spans for these thin film sensor
elements in actual exterior exposure have also been calculated. According to estimates, an Al-TF of about 1 urn would last about 9 months in exterior exposure in chloride containing atmospheres, such as in the coastal regions, but would survive nearly 2 years in normal atmospheres not having acidic or chloride pollutants. On the contrary, 1 urn thick Cu-TF would last only for about 2.5 months in chloride-laden environments, but would last for about 2 years in normal atmospheres. However, Cu-TF would be corroded off faster in slightly alkaline atmospheric condensate under total immersion situation. Lifetime estimates are presented and discussed.
Keywords: Al and Cu thin film sensors, atmospheric corrosion detectors, cyclic fog test, continuous immersion test, passivation, depassivation, steady state corrosion currents, lifetime estimates.