Structure and morphology of laser-ablated WO3 thin films

Abstract

The structure and surface morphology of WO3 thin films deposited by a laser-ablation technique have been found to be strongly dependent on the deposition conditions and the nature of the substrate. By precisely controlling the substrate temperature and the oxygen partial pressure, amorphous, polycrystalline, nano-crystalline and iso-epitaxial WO3 thin films were successfully grown. The structure and surface morphological features of the films from X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy data are described in relation to the deposition conditions.