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Structural and optical properties of TiO2 thin films prepared by spin coating

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Abstract

Transparent semiconducting thin films of titanium oxide (TiO2) were deposited on glass substrates by the sol–gel method and spin-coating technique. The physical properties of the prepared films were studied as a function of the number of spun-cast layers. The microstructure and surface morphology of the TiO2 films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), with respect to the film thickness. The XRD analysis reveals that the films are polycrystalline with an anatase crystal structure and a preferred grain orientation in the (101) direction. The morphological properties were investigated by AFM, which shows a porous morphology structure for the films. The optical properties of the films were characterized by UV–Visible spectrophotometry, which shows that the films are highly transparent in the visible region and their transparency is slightly influenced by the film thickness, with an average value above 80 %. The dependence of the refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), and absorption coefficient (α) of the films on the wavelength was investigated. A shift in the optical band gap energy of the films from 3.75 to 3.54 eV, as a function of the film thickness, has been observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Photovoltaic Laboratory, Research and Technology Center of Energy, Borj-Cedria Science and Technology Park, BP 95, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

    I. Sta, M. Jlassi, M. Hajji, M. F. Boujmil, R. Jerbi & H. Ezzaouia

  2. National School for Electronics and Telecommunications, Technology Park of Sfax, BP 1163, CP 3021, Sakiet-Ezzit, Tunisia

    M. Hajji

  3. Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48, Vasileos Konstantinou Ave., 11635, Athens, Greece

    M. Kandyla & M. Kompitsas

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  1. I. Sta
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  2. M. Jlassi
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  4. M. F. Boujmil
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Sta, I., Jlassi, M., Hajji, M. et al. Structural and optical properties of TiO2 thin films prepared by spin coating. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 72, 421–427 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-014-3452-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-014-3452-z

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