TiO2 anatase films obtained by direct liquid injection atomic layer deposition at low temperature

TiO2 thin films were grown by direct liquid injection atomic layer deposition (DLI-ALD) with infrared rapid thermal heating using titanium tetraisopropoxide and water as precursors. This titanium tetraisopropoxide/water process exhibited a growth rate of 0.018 nm/cycle in a self-limited ALD growth mode at 280 degrees C. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses have shown a smooth surface with a low roughness. XPS results demonstrated that the films were pure and close to the TiO2 stoichiometric composition in depth. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the films were crystallized to the anatase structure in the as-deposited state at low temperature without necessity of high temperature annealing. Results obtained demonstrate that the liquid injection ALD is an efficient method of elaborating titanium oxide films using titanium tetraisopropoxide as precursor. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.