Thin TiO<sub>2</sub> films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in the O<sub>2</sub> gas ambient using the bulk metal Ti or pressed TiO<sub>2</sub> powder targets were characterized using spectroscopic methods. Films were deposited on SiO<sub>2</sub> (001) and SiO<sub>2</sub> glass substrates heated up to 300 °C. The deposition process was investigated at laser fluencies from the range of 1 – 3 J/cm<sup>2</sup> and at oxygen pressure of 0.1 – 3.2 Pa. The μ-Raman and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of the TiO<sub>2</sub> films revealed consistently both the anatase and rutile crystalline phases and a strong dependence of the phase content ratio on target material and deposition conditions. The range of crystallite size determined from XRD bandwidths was between (2-30) nm and (6-14) nm for anatase and rutile, respectively. The film thickness values between 0.74 and 1.65 μm depending on the deposition time were obtained from the transmittance and ellipsometric measurements. Values of the band gap of 3.5-4.1 eV derived from absorption spectra were higher than that of 3.2 eV corresponding to anatase and this difference was ascribed to the relatively small size of the anatase crystallites and presence of rutile, too. The SEM images of films produced under similar conditions from Ti and TiO<sub>2</sub> targets revealed porous structures. The highest anatase content was observed for films deposited by ablation of the TiO<sub>2</sub> target at moderate laser fluencies below 2 J/cm<sup>2</sup> and at oxygen pressure around 1.9 Pa.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print format on
SPIE.org.