Reactive sputter deposition of titanium dioxide

The microstructural, optical and electrical properties of reactively sputtered TiOx films have been examined at points along the reactive deposition hysteresis curve. The deposition process utilizes feedback control loops of the current and oxygen/argon flowrates for operation in the internal region of the hysteresis curve. The variations in the optical properties are well correlated to the process conditions and the microstructure. For thicknesses of 60-100 nm, the films are polycrystalline for low deposition/high oxygen flow rates, and become amorphous for high deposition/low oxygen flow rates. Electron diffraction ring patterns of the polycrystalline phase are best fit to the d-spacings of the rutile structure. The index of refraction at 550 nm for the rutile phase polycrystalline films (10 nm grain size) is 2.6, this falls to 2.4 as the films become amorphous, and rises to 2.5 as the films become oxygen substoichiometric. We find the variation of the optical band gap of TiOx to be less than 1%, and is less indicative of chemical and/or microstructural changes than the extinction coefficient at higher energies in the visible. The index of extinction at 350 MI shows a minimum at the same point as the index of refraction at 550 nm. We find the indirect fit of Tauc to the index of extinction gives the most linear fit. Variations in the complex index of refraction are consistent with the processing of r.f. sputtered films from titania targets. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.