The Effect of Various Annealing Cooling Rates on Electrical and Morphological Properties of TiO2 Thin Films

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of various postannealing cooling rates on structural and electrical properties of Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) thin films. TiO₂ thin films were deposited on a silicon substrate using DC magnetron sputtering technique. After annealing TiO₂ thin films at 600°C, to investigate the effect of different cooling rates on TiO₂ thin films, samples were cooled down from 600°C to room temperature under 3 different rates: 2°C/min, 6°C/min, and 8°C/min. The Surface morphology, crystal structure, and electrical properties of the samples were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Four-point probe (FPP) techniques. It is found that the rate of decreasing temperature after annealing can affect the morphology structure and electrical resistivity of TiO₂. The sample with 2°C/min cooling rate has the largest grain size and highest electrical resistivity, while the sample with 8°C/min cooling rate has the smallest grain size and lowest electrical resistivity.