Characterization of iron oxide thin films

Iron oxide thin films were grown with gas-phase deposition on a glass substrate in order to study the effects of the deposition temperature and time on the film properties. Characterization of the samples was performed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. It was observed that the film deposited at 350 C consisted of gamma-Fe2O3 whereas films produced at temperatures between 400degreesC and 500degreesC could be identified as alpha-Fe2O3. Increasing the deposition temperature resulted in an increase of the grain size at temperatures between 350degreesC and 450degreesC. When the deposition time was decreased, a part of the iron ions were observed to be in the divalent state. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.