Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of iron doped thin dioxide films, their structure and photowetting effect

Radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF PECVD) technique was applied for the purpose of deposition of iron doped titanium dioxide coatings from a gaseous mixture of oxygen with titanium (IV) chloride and iron (0) pentacarbonyl. Glass slides and silicon wafers were used as substrates. The coatings morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Their elemental and chemical composition was studied with the help of X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively, while their phase composition was analyzed with the Raman spectroscopy. For the determination of the film optical properties, ultraviolet (UV-Vis) spectroscopy techniques were used. Iron content in the range of 0.07 to 11.5 at.% was found in the coatings. FTIR studies showed that iron was built-in in the structure of TiO2 matrix. Surface roughness, assessed with the SEM and AFM techniques, increases with an increasing content of this element. Trace amounts of iron resulted in a lowering of an absorption threshold of the films and their optical gap, but the tendency was reversed for high concentrations of that element. The effect of iron doping on UV photowettability of the films was also studied and, for coatings containing up to 5% of iron, it was stronger than that exhibited by pure TiO2.