Properties of TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

With rapid progressive application of TiO2 thin films, magnetron sputtering becomes a very interesting method to prepare such multi-functional thin films. This paper focuses on influences of various deposition processes and deposition rate on the structures and properties of TiO2 thin films. Anatase, rutile or amorphous TiO2 films with various crystalline structures and different photocatalytic, optical and electrical properties can be produced by varying sputtering gases, substrate temperature, annealing process, deposition rate and the characteristics of magnetron sputtering. This may in turn affect the functions of TiO2 films in many applications. Furthermore, TiO2-based composites films can overcome many limitations and improve the properties of TiO2 films.

OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TiO_2 THIN FILM ON SILICON SUBSTRATE DEPOSITED BY DC REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTERING

TiO2 thin film has attracted considerable attention in recent years, due to its different refractive index and transparency with amorphous and different crysta ls in the visible and near-infrared wavelength region, high dielectric constant, wide band gap, high wear resistance and stability, etc, for which make it being used in many fields. This paper aims to investigate the optical characterizatio n of thin film TiO2 on silicon wafer. The TiO2 thin films were prepared by DC re active magnetron sputtering process from Ti target. The reflectivity of the film s was measured by UV-3101PC, and the index of refraction (n) and extinction coef ficient (k) were measured by n & k Analyzer 1200.

Photocatalytic Property of TiO2 Films Deposited by Pulsed DC Magnetron Sputtering

TiO2 thin films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering with the oxygen flow rate higher than the threshold. The film deposited for 5 h was of anatase phase with a preferred orientation along the <220> direction, but the films deposited for 2 and 3 h were amorphous. The transmittance and photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 films increased constantly with increasing film thickness. When the annealing temperature was lower than 700℃, only anatase grew in the TiO2 film. TiO2 phase changed from anatase to rutile when the annealing temperature was above 800℃. The photocatalytic activity decreased with increasing annealing temperature.

Optimization of Gas Sensing Performance of Nanocrystalline SnO_2 Thin Films Synthesized by Magnetron Sputtering

Tin oxide （SnO2） is one of the most promising transparent conducting oxide materials, which is widely used in thin film gas sensors. We investigate the dependence of the deposition time on structural, morphologicaJ and hydrogen gas sensing properties of SnO2 thin films synthesized by dc magnetron sputtering. The deposited samples are characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM, surface area measurements and surface profiler. Also the H2 gas sensing properties of SnO2 deposited samples are performed against a wide range of operating temperature. The XRD analysis demonstrates that the degree of crystallinity of the deposited SnO2 films strongly depends on the deposition time. SEM and AFM analyses reveal that the size of nanoparticles or agglomerates, and both average and rms surface roughness is enhanced with the increasing deposition time. Also gas sensors based on these SnO2 nanolayers show an acceptable response to hydrogen at various operating temperatures.

Effect of Heat-treatment on Crystalline Phase and UV Absorption of 60CeO_2-40TiO_2 Thin Films by Magnetron Sputtering

60CeO2-40TiO2 thin films were deposited on soda-lime silicate glass substrates by R.F. magnetron sputtering. The effects of heat-treatment on the UV-absorption of the thin films were studied on the 60CeO2-40TiO2 thin film with the largest UV cut-off wavelength. The sample films with CeO2：TiO2=60：40 were heated at 773 K, 873 K, 973 K for 30 min. These films are characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectrometer （XPS）. XRD analysis proves that the addition of TiO2 to CeO2 changed the crystalline state of CeO2. But the UV absorption effect of CeO2-TiO2 films with CeO2 crystallite phase is inferior to that of the amorphous phase CeO2-TiO2 films. XPS analysis also indicates that the amorphous phase CeO2-TiO2 films have the most Ce3＋ content in these films. Amorphous phase and crystalline phase of the CeO2-TiO2 films have different effects on UV absorption of the thin films.

Phase control of magnetron sputtering deposited Gd_2O_3 thin films as high-κ gate dielectrics

Gd2O3 thin films as high-κ gate dielectrics were deposited directly on Si（001） substrates by magnetron sputtering at a pressure of 1.3 Pa and different temperatures. X-ray diffraction results revealed that all the films grown from 450 to 570 ℃ were crystalline, and the Gd2O3 thin films consisted of a mixture of cubic and monoclinic phases. The growth temperature was a critical parameter for the phase constituents and their relative amount. Low temperature was favorable for the formation of cubic phase while higher temperature gave rise to more monoclinic phase. All the Gd2O3 thin films grown from different temperatures exhibited acceptable electrical properties, such as low leakage current density （JL） of 10-5 A/cm^2 at zero bias with capacitance equivalent SiO2 thickness in the range of 6-13 nm. Through the comparison between films grown at 450 and 570 ℃, the existence of monoclinic phase caused an increase in JL by nearly one order of magnitude and a reduction of effective dielectric constant from 17 to 9.

Photocatalytic Activities of Amorphous TiO_2-Cr Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering

Chrome-doped titanium oxide films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering method. The films deposited on glass slides at room temperature were investigated by atom force microscope, X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, the photoluminescence （PL） and ellipse polarization apparatus. The results indicate that TiO2-Cr film exists in the form of amorphous. The prepared films possess a band gap of less than 3.20 eV, and a new absorption peak. The films, irradiated for 5 h under UV light, exhibit excellent photocatalytic activities with the optimum decomposition rate at 98.5% for methylene blue. Consequently, the thickness threshold on these films is 114 nm, at which the rate of photodegradation is 95% in 5 h. When the thickness is over 114 nm, the rate of photodegradation becomes stable. This result is completely different from that of crystalloid TiO2 thin film.

Influence of TiO_2 seeding layers on phase composition of lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

The influence of amorphous TiO_2 seeding layers on the phase composition of lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate(0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.3PbTiO3,PMN-PT) films deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by RF magnetron sputtering was examined.The relation between seeding layer thickness and phase composition at different post annealing temperature was observed by XRD.The thickness of amorphous TiO2 seeding layer and post annealing temperature had remarkable effects on PMN-PT film phase composition.When amorphous seeding layer becomes thick,a new phase of Nb2O5 exists in the films.Only when the seeding layer thickness is suitable,the film with pure perovskite phase can be attained.

PREPARATION AND SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION OF TiO_2 THIN FILMS ON GLASS BY MAGNETRON SPUTTERING METHOD

Ti thin films were firstly deposited on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering method, then sintered the Ti thin films in air atmosphere and finally TiO2 transparence thin films on glass substrates were obtained. The structure and surface morphologies of the thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and SEM. The growth process of the thin films has been observed. The annealing time and annealing temperatures have an affect on the growth of the films.

Photovoltaic properties of Cu_2O-based heterojunction solar cells using n-type oxide semiconductor nano thin films prepared by low damage magnetron sputtering method

We improved the photovoltaic properties of Cu_2O-based heterojunction solar cells using n-type oxide semiconductor thin films prepared by a sputtering apparatus with our newly developed multi-chamber system. We also obtained the highest efficiency(3.21%) in an AZO/p-Cu_2O heterojunction solar cell prepared with optimized pre-sputtering conditions using our newly developed multi-chamber sputtering system. This value achieves the same or higher characteristics than AZO/Cu_2O solar cells with a similar structure prepared by the pulse laser deposition method.

Nanostructure of Rutile TiO₂Thin Films Prepared on Unheated Substrate by Dual Cathode DC Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering

In this work, structural and optical properties of the TiO2 films deposited on unheated substrates by dual cathode dc unbalanced magnetron sputtering at long substrate-target distance (ds-t) were studied. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were deposited on unheated Si (110) wafers, glass slides and carbon coated copper grids at different substrate to target (ds-t) distances. The structural properties of TiO2 thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microcopy (TEM) with selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), surface morphology using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical transmission spectra using a spectrophotometer. XRD results show that TiO2 films deposited at various ds-t distances have only rutile crystal structure. The crystallinity and thickness of the films increased while the roughness decreased with decreasing ds-t distance. The refractive indices of the deposited films were found to be in the range of 2.51 - 2.82 and increased with decreasing ds-t distance.

Influences of working pressure on properties for TiO_2 films deposited by DC pulse magnetron sputtering

TiO2 films were deposited at room temperature by DC pulse magnetron sputtering system.The crystalline structures,morphological features and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 films were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,atomic force microscopy（AFM） and ultraviolet spectrophotometer,respectively.The results indicated that working pressure was the key deposition parameter in？uencing the TiO2 film phase composition at room temperature,which directly affected its photocatalytic activity.With increasing working pressure,the target self-bias decreases monotonously.Therefore,low temperature TiO2 phase（anatase） could be deposited with high working pressure.The anatase TiO2 films deposited with 1.4 Pa working pressure displayed the highest photocatalytic activity by the decomposition of Methyl Orange solution,which the degradation rate reached the maximum（35%） after irradiation by ultraviolet light for 1 h.

Effects of O_2/Ar ratio and annealing temperature on electrical properties of Ta_2O_5 film prepared by magnetron sputtering

The effects of the oxygen-argon ratio on electric properties of Ta2O5 film prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering were investigated.The Ta2O5 partially transforms from the amorphous phase into the crystal phase when annealing temperatures are 800℃ or higher.The lattice constant of Ta2O5 decreases with the increase of the O2/Ar ratio,which indicates that oxygen gas in the working gas mixture contributes to reducing the density of oxygen vacancies during the deposition process.For the films deposited in working gas mixtures with different O2/Ar ratios and subsequently annealed at 700℃,the effective dielectric constant is increased from 14.7 to 18.4 with the increase of the O2/Ar ratio from 0 to 1.Considering the presence of an SiO2 layer between the film and the silicon substrate,the optimal dielectric constant of Ta2O5 film was estimated to be 31.Oxygen gas in the working gas mixture contributes to reducing the density of oxygen vacancies,and the oxygen vacancy density and leakage current of Ta2O5 film both decrease with the increase of the O2/Ar ratio.The leakage current decreases after annealing treatment and it is minimized at 700℃.However,when the annealing temperature is 800℃ or higher,it increases slightly,which results from the partially crystallized Ta2O5 layer containing defects such as grain boundaries and vacancies.

Effects of the sputtering power on the crystalline structure and optical properties of the silver oxide films deposited using direct-current reactive magnetron sputtering

This paper reports that a series of silver oxide （AgzO） films are deposited on glass substrates by direct-current reactive magnetron sputtering at a substrate temperature of 250 ℃ and an oxygen flux ratio of 15：18 by modifying the sputtering power （SP）. The AgxO films deposited apparently show a structural evolution from cubic biphased （AgO ＋ Ag20） to cubic single-phased （Ag20）, and to biphased （Ag20 ＋ AgO） structure. Notably, the cubic single-phased Ag20 fihn is deposited at the SP = 105 W and an AgO phase with （220） orientation discerned in the Ag^O films deposited using the SP 〉 105 W. The transmissivity and refiectivity of the AgxO films in transparent region decrease with the increase the SP, whereas the absorptivity inversely increases with the increase of the SP. These results may be due to the structural evolution and the increasing film thickness. A redshift of the films＇ absorption edges determined in terms of Tauc formula clearly occurs from 3.1 eV to 2.73 eV with the increase of the SP.

Effect of N_2-Gas Partial Pressure on the Structure and Properties of Copper Nitride Films by DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

Copper nitride thin films were deposited on glass substrates by reactive direct current （DC） magnetron sputtering at various N2-gas partial pressures and room temperature. Xray diffraction measurements showed that the films were composed of Cu3N crystallites and exhibited a preferential orientation of the [111] direction at a low nitrogen gas （N2） partial pressure. The film growth preferred the [111] and the [100] direction at a high N2 partial pressure. Such preferential film growth is interpreted as being due to the variation in the Copper （Cu） nitrification rate with the N2 pressure. The N2 partial pressure affects not only the crystal structure of the film but also the deposition rate and the resistivity of the Cu3N film. In our experiment, the deposition rate of Cu3N films was 18 nm/min to 30 nm/min and increased with the N2 partial pressure. The resistivity of the Cu3N films increased sharply with the increasing N2 partial pressure. At a low N2 partial pressure, the Cu3N films showed a metallic conduction mechanism through the Cu path, and at a high N2 partial pressure, the conductivity of the Cu3N films showed a semiconductor conduction mechanism.

Effects of Substrate Temperatures on the Structure and UV-shielding Properties of TiO_2-CeO_2 Films Deposited on Glass by Radio-frequency Magnetron Sputtering

TiO2-CeO2 films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates at varied substrate temperatures by rf magnetron sputtering using 40% molar TiO2-60% molar CeO2 ceramic target in Ar：O2=95：5 atmosphere.The structure,surface composition,UV-visible spectra of the films were measured by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,respectively.The experimental results show that the films are amorphous,there are only Ti^4＋ and Ce^4＋ on the surface of the films,the obtained TiO2-CeO2 films shou a good uniformity and high densification,and the films deposited on the glass can shield ultraviolet light without significant absorpition of visible light,the films deposited on substrates at room temperature and 220℃ absorb UV effectively.

Effects of Substrate Temperature on Properties of Transparent Conductive Ta-Doped TiO_2 Films Deposited by Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Ta-doped titanium dioxide films are deposited on fused quartz substrates using the rf magnetron sputtering technique at different substrate temperatures. After post-annealing at 550℃ in a vacuum, all the films are crystallized into the polycrystalline anatase TiO2 structure. The effects of substrate temperature from room temperature up to 350℃ on the structure, morphology, and photoelectric properties of Ta-doped titanium dioxide films are analyzed. The average transmittance in the visible region（400-800 nm） of all films is more than 73%.The resistivity decreases firstly and then increases moderately with the increasing substrate temperature. The polycrystalline film deposited at 150℃ exhibits a lowest resistivity of 7.7 × 10^-4Ω·cm with the highest carrier density of 1.1×10^21 cm^-3 and the Hall mobility of 7.4 cm^2·V^-1s^-1.

Tungsten Doped Indium Oxide Thin Films Deposited at Room Temperature by Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Tungsten doped indium oxide （IWO） thin films were deposited on glass substrate at room temperature by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. Chemical states analysis was carried out, indicating that valence states of element W in the films were W4＋ and W6＋. The effects of sputtering power and film thickness on the surface morphology, optical and electrical properties of IWO thin films were investigated. The IWO thin films had high transmittance in near infrared （NIR） spectral range. The resistivity, carrier mobility and carrier concentration owned their respective optimum values as sputtering power and thickness changed. The asdeposited IWO film with the minimum resistivity of 3.23 × 10^-4 Ω cm was obtained at a sputtering power of 50 W, with carrier mobility of 27.1 cm2 V-1 s-1, carrier concentration of 7.15 × 10^20 cm-3, average transmittance about 80% in visible region and above 75% in NIR region. It may meet the application requirement of high conductivity and transparency in NIR wavelength region.

Preparation,structure and ferromagnetic properties of the nanocrystalline Ti_(1-x)Mn_xO_2 thin films grown by radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering

This paper reported that the Mn-doped TiO2 films were prepared by radio frequency （RF） magnetron cosputtering. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate that the samples are easy to form the futile structure, and the sizes of the crystal grains grow big and big as the Mn concentration increases. X-ray photoemlssion spectroscopy measurements and high resolution transmission electron microscope photographs confirm that the manganese ions have been effectively doped into the TiO2 crystal when the Mn concentration is lower than 21%. The magnetic property measurements show that the Ti1-xMnxO2 （x = 0.21） films are ferromagnetic at room temperature, and the saturation magnetization, coercivity, and saturation field are 16.0 emu/cm^3, 167.5 × 80 A/m and 3740 × 80 A/m at room temperature, respectively. The room-temperature ferromagnetism of the films can be attributed to the new futile Ti1-xMnxO2 structure formed by the substitution of Mn^4＋ for Ti^4＋ into the TiO2 crystal .lattice, and could be explained by O vacancy （Vo）-enhanced ferromagnetism model.

Enhanced Photoelectric Property of Mo-C Codoped TiO2 Films Deposited by RF Magnetron Cosputtering

Mo-C codoped TiO2 films were prepared by RF magnetron cosputtering. Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray Analysis and X-Ray Diffraction were used to study the influences of codoping on energy gap, surface morphology, valence states of elements, ions content and crystal structure, respectively. The concentration of photogenerated carriers was measured by studying photocurrent density, while catalytic property was evaluated by observing degradation rate of methylene blue under visible light. A Mo-doped TiO2 film, whose content of Mo had been optimized in advance, was prepared and later used for subsequent comparisons with codoped samples. The result indicates that Mo-C codoping could curtail the energy gap and shift the absorption edge toward visible range. Under the illumination of visible light, codoped TiO2 films give rise to stronger photocurrent due to smaller band gaps. It is also found that Mo, C codoping results in a porous surface, whose area declines gradually with increasing carbon content. Carbon and Molybdenum doses were delicately optimized. Under the illumination of visible light, sample doped with 9.78at% carbon and 0.36at% Mo presents the strongest photocurrent which is about 8 times larger than undoped TiO2 films, and about 6 times larger than samples doped with Mo only.