Influence of post-deposition annealing on the chemical states of crystalline tantalum pentoxide films

We investigate the effect of post-deposition annealing (for temperatures from 848 K to 1273 K) on the chemical properties of crystalline films grown on Si(100) substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The atomic arrangement, as determined by X-ray diffraction, is predominately hexagonal , however, there seems to be an optimal annealing temperature that maximizes the O% to Ta% ratio. We found that at 1273 K the ratio slightly reduces suggesting oxygen depletion.