Investigations on the synthesis, optical and electrical properties of TiO₂ thin films by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂ ) thin films were prepared by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to examine the structure and to determine the crystallite size of TiO₂ thin film. The surface morphology of the film was studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).The optical properties were studied using the UV-Visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. Optical constants such as band gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient and electric susceptibility were determined. The FTIR spectrum revealed the strong presence of TiO₂ . The dielectric properties of TiO₂ thin films were studied for different frequencies and different temperatures. The AC electrical conductivity test revealed that the conduction depended both on the frequency and the temperature. Photoconductivity study was carried out in order to ascertain the positive photoconductivity of the TiO₂ thin films. (author)