Effects of post-deposition surface treatment on the optical, structural and hydrogen sensing properties of TiO 2 thin films

Abstract

TiO 2 thin films were prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of oxygen and argon on glass and oxidized silicon substrates. The effect of post-deposition annealing (300 °C, 500 °C and 700 °C for 8 h in air) on the structural and morphological properties of TiO 2 thin films is presented. In addition, the effect of Pt surface modification (1, 3 and 5 nm) on hydrogen sensing was studied. XRD patterns have shown that in the range of annealing temperatures from 300 °C to 500 °C crystallization starts and the thin film structure changes from amorphous to polycrystalline (anatase phase). In the case of samples on glass substrate, optical transmittance spectra were recorded. TiO 2 thin films were tested as sensors of hydrogen at concentrations 10,000–1000 ppm and operating temperatures within the 180–200 °C range. The samples with 1 nm and in particular with 3 nm of Pt on the surface responded to hydrogen fast and with high sensitivity.