CORRELATION BETWEEN WETTABILITY AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF SILVER-BASED THIN FILMS PREPARED BY SPUTTERING METHOD WITH INCLINED SUBSTRATE AND SHADOWING EFFECT

In this work, various silver-based thin films were prepared by sputtering method with inclined substrates in the presence of shadowing object. The morphology and structural and optical properties of the prepared thin films were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), respectively. The wettability of films was investigated by measuring contact angles of the films. The obtained results show that by increasing shadowing effect, a decrease in contact angle of the prepared samples is observed. Bruggeman homogenization simulation method was applied to describe the film structures. The theoretical part and simulation using Bruggeman homogenization confirm the experimental findings and show the best possible agreements. Finally, an increase in contact angle of the prepared thin films with high porosity and high surface roughness was observed. In films with silver-silver oxide compositions, the higher contribution of oxide part in the structure of the films leads to the hydrophilicity of the surface.