Optical Properties of TiO2 Films Deposited by Reactive Electron Beam Sputtering

Titanium dioxide (anatase, a-TiO2) films have been prepared by electron beam sputtering of a TiO2 target in reactive atmosphere and their structural, microstructural, and optical properties were evaluated by reflection high- energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Different reflection models for determination of film optical parameters were tested and compared. The dispersive optical parameters were defined using the Tauc-Lorentz model by SE in the photon energy range of E = 1.12-4.96 eV. The films were transparent at E < 3 eV, but noticeable absorption was detected at E > 3 eV. The bandgap was estimated at the level of E (g) ae 3.44 eV.