Effect of the Deposition Conditions on Titanium Oxide Thin Films Properties

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of titanium oxide thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition in different experimental conditions. The scope of this work is to investigate the effect of the oxygen pressure in the deposition chamber on the material properties. Thin films characterizations include the mechanical and tribological properties such as the modulus of elasticity, hardness and the adhesion force. The mechanical and tribological properties of the materials are experimentally determined by using the atomic force microscopy technique. The effect of the oxygen pressure on the film thickness is analyzed. As the pressure in the deposition process decreases, the thickness of the thin films increases, respectively. The surfaces roughness increases as the deposition pressure decreases that leads to a decrease of adhesion forces. Hardness and modulus of elasticity increases as the deposition pressure decreases. This study shows that the mechanical and tribological properties of the investigated thin films strongly depend on the grain size and the films density, which are influenced by the deposition conditions (the oxygen pressure in the deposition chamber).