Abstract
A novel plasma source suitable for controllable nanostructured thin film deposition processes is proposed. It exploits the separation of the process in two distinct phases. First precursor dissociation and radical formation is performed in a dense oxidizing plasma. Then nucleation and aggregation of molecular clusters occur during the expansion into vacuum of a supersonic jet. This allows a superior control of cluster size and energy in the process of film growth. Characterization of the plasma state and source performances in precursor dissociation have been investigated. The performances of this new Plasma Assisted Supersonic Jet Deposition technique were demonstrated using organic compounds of titanium to obtain TiO2 thin nanostructured films.
Highlights
The deposition of thin films using physical vapour deposition or chemical vapour deposition (CVD) techniques is a process that has many applications in material science [1]
As it is well known inductively coupled plasma (ICP) discharges operates in two different regimes, so-called E- and H-mode [31]
By rising incrementally the voltage applied to the antenna through the matching network, the gas-phase undergoes an electrical breakdown and usually the ignited discharge operates in the E-mode
Summary
The deposition of thin films using physical vapour deposition or chemical vapour deposition (CVD) techniques is a process that has many applications in material science [1]. The possibility to change their morphology at the nanoscale makes them suitable for applications like catalysis and photocatalysis, energy conversion or storage, rather than more conventional uses as barrier or protective coatings [2] Despite their interest, few innovative techniques exists for the controlled deposition of nanoscale assembled materials. Extraction is performed through a nozzle, producing a supersonic jet which propagates in an expansion chamber where deposition processes happen, to be used to grow thin films with controlled morphology at high yield. We will characterize the plasma in our source and we will demonstrate that ordered nanostructured films of TiO2 could be grown and that their morphological properties, similar to dendritic structures obtained by means of PLD, can be tuned, by varying the process parameters. A fair parameter control could be achieved in order to tailor the optoelectronic properties of synthesized material
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