Influences of the iron ion (Fe3+)-doping on structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films prepared by sol–gel spin coating

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films doping of various iron ion (Fe3+) concentrations were deposited on silicon (Si) (100) and quartz substrates by sol–gel Spin Coating technique followed by a thermal treatment at 600 °C. The structure, surface morphology and optical properties, as a function of the doping, have been studied by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman, ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE). XRD and Raman analyzes of our thin films show that the crystalline phase of TiO2 thin films comprised only the anatase TiO2, but the crystallinity decreased when the Fe3+ content increased from 0% to 20%. During the Fe3+ addition to 20%, the phase of TiO2 thin film still maintained the amorphous state. The grain size calculated from XRD patterns varies from 29.3 to 22.6 nm. The complex index and the optical band gap (Eg) of the films were determined by the spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis. We have found that the optical band gap decreased with an increasing Fe3+ content.