Effect of annealing and O-2 pressure on structural and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited TiO2 thin films

Abstract

In this paper, effect of annealing and O-2 pressure on the structural and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited thin films of TiO2 is reported. XRD, FTIR spectra and SEM images confirm that at high annealing temperatures, the rutile phase and crystalline quality of thin films increases. Higher pressure of O-2 during deposition improves the rutile phase and favors the rod like growth of TiO2 thin film. The red shift in photoluminescence (PL) spectra of TiO2 thin films with annealing temperature is reported. Contact angle measurement data for the thin films reveals the hydrophobic nature of the films. The very low reflectivity (similar to 10%) reported in this paper may be promising for anti-reflection coating applications of pulsed laser deposited TiO2 thin films. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.