Control of ordered mesoporous titanium dioxide nanostructures formed using plasma enhanced glancing angle deposition

• Plasma assistance during glancing angle deposition enables control of morphology.
• Ion energy variation during glancing angle deposition varies columnar angle
• Column thickness of glancing angle deposition dependant on ion current density
• Ion current density variation during glancing angle deposition varies porosity

Three dimensional nanostructures of mesoporous (pore diameter between 2-50 nm) nanocrystalline titania (TiO2) were produced using glancing angle deposition combined with plasma ion assisted deposition, providing plasma enhanced glancing angle deposition eliminating the need for post-annealing to achieve film crystallinity. Electron beam evaporation was chosen to deposit nanostructures at various azimuthal angles, achieving designed variation in three dimensional nanostructure. A thermionic broad beam hollow cathode plasma source was used to enhance electron beam deposition, with ability to vary in real time ion fluxes and energies providing a means to modify and control TiO2 nanostructure real time with controlled density and porosity along and lateral to film growth direction. Plasma ion assisted deposition was carried out at room temperature using a hollow cathode plasma source, ensuring low heat loading to the substrate during deposition. Plasma enhanced glancing angle TiO2 structures were deposited onto borosilicate microscope slides and used to characterise the effects of glancing angle and plasma ion energy distribution function on the optical and nanostructural properties. Variation in TiO2 refractive index from 1.40 to 2.45 (@ 550 nm) using PEGLAD is demonstrated. Results and analysis of the influence of plasma enhanced glancing angle deposition on evaporant path and resultant glancing angle deviation from standard GLAD are described. Control of mesoporous morphology is described, providing a means of optimising light trapping features and film porosity, relevant to applications such as fabrication of dye sensitised solar cells.