AVS 47th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuP

Paper TF-TuP11
Low Temperature Crystallization of TiO@sub 2@ Thin Films Sputter-deposited in Ar-H@sub 2@O Plasma

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C & D

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: T. Ohwaki, TOYOTA Central R&D Labs., Inc., Japan
Authors: T. Ohwaki, TOYOTA Central R&D Labs., Inc., Japan
Y. Taga, TOYOTA Central R&D Labs., Inc., Japan
Correspondent: Click to Email
Polycrystalline TiO@sub 2@ thin films are widely used as photocatalytic materials. Low temperature crystallization of the films is one of the important techniques for realizing wide spread application. We studied low temperature process for preparing TiO@sub 2@ thin films by sputtering. We found that the TiO@sub 2@ thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering of Argon-water plasma were crystallized to anatase poly-crystal by post-annealing at only 200°C in air, while TiO@sub 2@ thin films sputter-deposited by Argon-oxygen plasma were crystallized at above 500°C post-annealing. To clarify the mechanism of low temperature crystallization, we investigated the structure of TiO@sub 2@ thin films sputter-deposited by Ar-D@sub 2@O or Ar-O@sub 2@ plasma by means of Infrared-Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (IR-RAS). The detailed analyses of the absorption bands revealed an existence of hydroxyl groups in TiO@sub 2@ thin films sputter-deposited by Ar-D@sub 2@O plasma and relaxation of the lattice. This result suggests that the introduced hydroxyl groups cut the amorphous network structure of the TiO@sub 2@ thin films, which enhances the rearrangement of the atoms in the films by post-annealing.