Growth, Structural and Optical Properties of DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtered TixSi1-xO2 Thin Films
Thin films of TixSi1-xO2 were deposited on silicon and quartz substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering of Ti80Si20 composite target at different oxygen flow rates. The deposited films were characterized for their chemical composition and core level binding energies using X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, surface morphology with scanning electron microscope, optical absorption with spectrophotometer and refractive index by ellipsometer. The thickness of the deposited films was 100 nm. The oxygen content in the films increased with increase of oxygen flow rate. Films with Ti0.7Si0.3O2 were achieved at oxygen flow rates ≥ 8 sccm. X-ray diffraction studies indicated the grown of amorphous films. X-ray photoelectron spectra of the films showed the characteristic core level binding energies of TixSi1-xO2. Optical band gap of the films decreased from 4.15 to 4.07 eV with increase of oxygen flow rate from 2 sccm to 10 sccm respectively.