Morphology in‐Design Deposition of HfO2 Thin Films

Abstract

We investigated factors influencing the growth morphology of hafnium dioxide (HfO2) thin films by glancing angle deposition, and found that a shape factor defined as the ratio of the deposition rate over the substrate rotation speed played a key role in determining the morphology of the films. By adjusting this factor, we fabricated successfully films of aligned HfO2 nanorods, nanosprings, and nanohelix. Comparing with the flat films, these nanostructured films exhibited enhanced light transmittance and photocatalytic activity in hydrogen production from water splitting under ultraviolet radiation.