Surface Morphology and Structure Study of Titanium Dioxide Thin Films Deposited on PET Substrates

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering, using a Ti target (purity 99.99%), on poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate. Argon and oxygen were used as the working and reacting gas, respectively. The surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the film composition and structure by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Uniform and compact TiO2 nanoparticles with diameter about 50 nm were deposited on PET substrates within 2 minutes. Many nano-sized particles aggregated and formed larger clusters after 5 minutes. The size of the clusters increased with increased sputtering time. The particles grew perpendicular to the substrate, and the surfaces of the films were smooth and undulate. The Ti2p peak was resolvable into the three valence species Ti4+, Ti3+ and Ti2+. The O/Ti ratio varied with the Ar: O2, ratio, the optimum value of which was in the range 4-8. The TiO2 films deposited on PET substrate were amorphous.