Deposition and modification of titanium dioxide thin films by filtered arc deposition

Thin films of titanium dioxide have been deposited on glass substrates and conducting (100) silicon wafers by filtered arc deposition (FAD). The influence of the depositing Ti⁻ energy, substrate types and substrate temperature on the structure, density, mechanical and optical properties have been investigated. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that with increasing substrate bias, the film structure on silicon substrates changes from anatase to amorphous and then to rutile phase without auxiliary heating, the transition to rutile occurring at a depositing particle energy of about 100 eV. However, in the case of the glass substrate, no changes in the structure and optical properties were observed with increasing substrate bias. The optical properties over the range of 300–800 nm were measured using spectroscopic elliosometery, and found to be strongly dependent on the substrate bias, film density and substrate type. The refractive index values of the amorphous, anatase and rutile films on Si were found to be 2.56, 2.62 and 2.72 at a wavelength of 550 nm, respectively. The hardness and elastic modulus of the films were found to be strongly dependent on the film density. Measurements of the mechanical properties and stress also confirmed the structural transitions. The hardness and elastic modulus range of TiO₂ films were found to be between 10–18 and 140–225 GPa, respectively. The compressive stress was found to vary from 0.7 to 2.6 GPa over the substrate bias range studied. The composition of the film was measured to be stoichiometric and no change was observed with increasing substrate bias. The density of the film varied with change in the substrate bias, and the density ranged between 3.62 and 4.09 g/cm³.