Modifications in structural and electronic properties of TiO2 thin films using swift heavy ion irradiation

We report on the structural and electronic properties of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiated pristine TiO2 thin films, deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on sapphire substrates. The high resolution x-ray diffraction and Raman measurements show a structural phase transition from anatase to admixture of brookite and rutile phases of TiO2 with increasing SHI fluence followed by a significant distortion in the TiO6 octahedra. The modification in the electronic structure stimulated by SHI irradiation has been investigated using x-ray absorption (XAS) experiments at the O K and Ti L-3,L-2 absorption edges. The O K edge spectra clearly indicate the splitting of the pre-edge spectral features having t(2g) and e(g) symmetry bands due to structural disorder/distortion induced by irradiation. The intensity of the SHI generated components at the O K edge increases monotonically, which can be correlated to the modification in unoccupancies associated with O 2 p orbitals hybridized with Ti 3 d states. The XAS spectra at the Ti L-3,L-2 edge further authenticate that SHI creates a controlled structural disorder/distortion in the TiO6 octahedra. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3657466]