Influence of O2 flow rate on growth rate, composition and structure of rf-sputtered TiOx films

A. C. IÑIGUEZ; R. R. CAMPOMANES; M. H. TABACNIKS; D. COMEDI

REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE APLICACOES DE VACUO

Año: 2003 vol. 22 p. 22 - 24

0101-7659

We have studied the influence of varying the oxygen flow rate (FO2) on the deposition rate and composition of substoichiometric titanium oxide films deposited by rf-sputtering. Rutherford backscattering is used for the composition and perfilometry for the growth rate. An abrupt reduction of the growth rate is observed for FO2 larger than 0,050 sccm. This effect coincides with the formation of TiOx films with x=1.78, which increases up to x=1.92 for FO2=6 sccm. For FO2 ~ 0.054 sccm, Ti films with about 24 at.% O content are obtained. The oxide films exhibit a mixture of the rutile and anatase TiO2­ structures (as determined by X-ray diffraction), whose relative contribution changes little with FO2. A small but noticeable decrease of the crystallite size with increasing FO2 can be deduced from the X-ray diffraction patterns.