Abstract
In this paper, we report anatase and rutile titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticulate thin films fabricated on silica and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (fs-PLD). Depositions were carried-out at substrate temperatures of 25 °C, 400 °C and 600 °C from anatase and rutile phase target materials. Effect of substrate temperature on the surface morphology, microstructural, optical, and electrical properties of these films were systematically investigated by using various range of measurements such as scanning electron microscopy, (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Ultraviolet–visible-near infrared (UV–Vis–NIR) spectroscopy, and Hall Effect measurements. It is observed that the TiO2 thin films surface are predominated with nanoparticulates of diameter less 35 nm, which constitute about ~ 70%; while the optical bandgaps and electrical resistivity decrease with increasing substrate temperature. A mixed-phase (anatase/rutile) TiO2 thin film was produced at a substrate temperature of 400 °C when samples are fabricated with anatase and rutile target materials. The results of this study indicate that the structural and crystallinity, optical, and electrical properties can be controlled by varying fs-PLD process parameters to prepare TiO2 thin films, which are suitable for applications in photovoltaics, solar cells, and photo-catalysis.
Highlights
In this paper, we report anatase and rutile titanium oxide ( TiO2) nanoparticulate thin films fabricated on silica and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition
We report the production of anatase/rutile mixed-phase and rutile T iO2 nanoparticulate thin films from anatase and rutile T iO2 target materials onto silica and indium tin oxide substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (fs-pulsed laser deposition (PLD)) technique
The nanoparticle sizes remain relatively uniform and homogeneously distributed across the entire substrates for both T iO2 nanoparticulate thin films. These results demonstrate that a fs-PLD is more efficient in producing smaller TiO2 nanoparticle size than nanosecond laser PLD
Summary
We report anatase and rutile titanium oxide ( TiO2) nanoparticulate thin films fabricated on silica and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (fs-PLD). A mixed-phase (anatase/rutile) TiO2 thin film was produced at a substrate temperature of 400 °C when samples are fabricated with anatase and rutile target materials. The results of this study indicate that the structural and crystallinity, optical, and electrical properties can be controlled by varying fs-PLD process parameters to prepare TiO2 thin films, which are suitable for applications in photovoltaics, solar cells, and photo-catalysis. PLD is considered as a promising technique to deposit uniform T iO2 thin films (anatase–rutile mixed phase or nanoparticle-assembled) because the stoichiometric composition of the thin films deposited is identical to the target material used This technique has several other advantages which include a fast deposition rate, easy to control film growth, film thickness, nanoparticles size or surface roughness while deposition parameters such as energy, temperature, pressure, target-substrate distance can be adjusted to optimise the fabricating process. These experimental results were compared to a theoretical model, which confirmed that the fractal nanostructure aggregates are formed through a diffusion m echanism[34]
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