Abstract

The oxygen content of titanium oxide films determines their optical properties. It is well known that temperature, deposition rate, and oxygen partial pressureare the three major parameters in reactive evaporation. Based on this information, with a fixed substrate temperature and deposition rate, we should be able to control the stoichiometry by varying the O₂ pressure. This was done in our Balzers 760 high-vacuum chamber. The starting material was Ti₂O₃. Films 100 nm thick were deposited on carbon substrates. Ti/O ratios were examined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and the relationship between Ti/O ratios and O₂ pressures was established. We were able to determine different stoichiometries in titanium oxide films with reasonable reproducibility. Optical properties of thin films of TiO_x are presented along with RBS results.

© 1990 Optical Society of America