Structural and morphological investigation of TiO2 sputtered thin films

TiO2 thin films were prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of oxygen and argon on silicon and oxidized silicon substrates. The effect of post-deposition annealing (300, 500 and 700 grad C for 8 h in air) on the structural and morphological properties of TiO2 thin films is presented. XRD patterns have shown that in the range of annealing temperatures from 300 to 500 grad C crystallization starts and the thin film structure changes from amorphous to polycrystalline (anatase phase). EDX measurements revealed that post-deposition annealing has affected the oxygen concentration in the film very slightly. (authors)