Surface and optical properties of nanocrystalline anatase titania films grown by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering

Nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 films were deposited on glass and silicon substrates by using radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. Microstructural and optical properties were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectra, optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL). XRD and Raman spectroscopy detected a nanocrystalline anatase titania films for input power at 250 W, for argon/oxygen ratio at 50 sccm/5.0 sccm and for substrate temperature at 500 °C. Visible broad widened photoluminescence peak is interpreted as the emission of self-trapped excitons localized on TiO6 octahedra.