Investigation of Structural, Morphological and Optical Properties of Chromium Oxide Thin Films Prepared at Different Annealing Times

Quarterly Journal of Applied Chemical Research

مقاله 6، دوره 12، شماره 1، بهار 2018، صفحه 58-67  

نوع مقاله: Research Paper

نویسندگان

Fatemeh Hajakbari ؛ Alireza Hojabri

Department of Physics, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

چکیده

Chromium oxide (α-Cr2O3) thin films were prepared using thermal annealing of chromium (Cr)
films deposited on quartz substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering. The annealing
process of the films was performed for different times of 60, 120,180 and 240 min. The influence
of annealing time on structural, morphological and optical properties of the prepared films was
investigated by different analysis including X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy
(AFM) and spectrophotometry. The XRD patterns showed that upon thermal annealing the Cr
films transformed to (α-Cr2O3) and the annealing time has a profound effect on crystalline
structure of chromium oxide films. According to AFM results, the films surface morphologies
were strongly dependent on annealing time and an increase in annealing time led to an increase
in the grain size as well as in the surface roughness. The transmittance of the as deposited film
was found very low and it improved after annealing.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Sputtering؛ Chromium oxide؛ Annealing time؛ Atomic Force Microscopy؛ Transmittance