Role of ion energy on growth and optical dispersion of nanocrystalline TiO2 films prepared by magnetron sputtering with ion assistance at the substrate

► Role of plasma ions on the growth and the optical properties of TiO2 films. ► Nanocrystalline rutile TiO2 with crystallinity retained over a range of ion energy. ► Highly transparent TiO2 of small crystallite size is promising as optical coating. ► Ion energy influences the dispersion parameters of the films.