Polycrystalline TiO2 thin films with different thicknesses deposited on unheated substrates using RF magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Different film thicknesses of noncrystalline TiO2 thin films deposited on various unheated substrates using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering is investigated. The crystalline structure, optical properties, and surface morphology and roughness were measured using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), an atomic force microscope (AFM), and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Polycrystalline phases were formed on unheated substrates due to the plasma particle bombardment. Crystalline structures more easily formed on the glass substrate and only nanocrystalline structures formed on the ITO glass substrate due to the surface roughness of substrates. The absorption edge and optical band gap depended on die crystalline particle size and phase structure. The XRD results indicate that 500-nm-thick film on a glass substrate had die strongest intensities or mixed anatase and rutile phases. © 2011 The Japan Institute of Metals.