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Micromorphology analysis of TiO 2 thin films by atomic force microscopy images: The influence of postannealing
Author(s) -
Ţălu Ştefan,
Achour Amine,
Solaymani Shahram,
Nikpasand Kimia,
Dalouji Vali,
Sari Amirhossein,
Rezaee Sahar,
Nezafat Negin B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.23433
Subject(s) - atomic force microscopy , materials science , annealing (glass) , analytical chemistry (journal) , root mean square , thin film , silicon , sputter deposition , scanning electron microscope , titanium dioxide , titanium , mineralogy , sputtering , composite material , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , chromatography , engineering , electrical engineering
This work describes an analysis of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin films prepared on silicon substrates by direct current (DC) planar magnetron sputtering system in O 2 /Ar atmosphere in correlation with three‐dimensional (3D) surface characterization using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The samples were grown at temperatures 200, 300, and 400°C on silicon substrate using the same deposition time (30 min) and were distributed into four groups: Group I (as‐deposited samples), Group II (samples annealed at 200°C), Group III (samples annealed at 300°C), and Group IV (samples annealed at 400°C). AFM images with a size of 0.95 μm × 0.95 μm were recorded with a scanning resolution of 256 × 256 pixels. Stereometric analysis was carried out on the basis of AFM data, and the surface topography was described according to ISO 25178‐2:2012 and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B46.1‐2009 standards. The maximum and minimum root mean square roughnesses were observed in surfaces of Group II (Sq = 7.96 ± 0.1 nm) and Group IV (Sq = 3.87 ± 0.1 nm), respectively.