optical spectroscopy of ablation plume for preparations of nanostructured TiO thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Kitazawa, Shinichi

Nanostructured TiO thin films on -AlO (0001) substrates prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) were analyzed and evaluated in terms of the buffer O gas pressure (0 - 80 Pa) dependencies by optical spectroscopy and surface morphology. Optical emission spectra of the ablation plume from Ti and TiO targets were measured in-situ. The contribution from TiO molecules was observed by narrow-band photometry. The surface morphology was observed by an atomic force microscope (AFM), revealing the pressure dependence of nanostructures. The crystallographic structures of prepared TiO thin films were observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The optically observed band-gaps of the prepared thin films show that the crystallographic structures are mixed crystals of rutile and anatase. Evaporated Ti particles combine with buffer O gas thereby producing TiO molecules, which affect the formation of nanostructures on TiO thin films.