Influence of annealing on structural and optical properties of n-TiO₂ thin films grown by sol-gel spin coating

Abstract

The influence of thermal annealing to the properties of n-TiO2 thin films fabricated by sol-gel spin coating has been investigated using X-ray diffraction (X-RD) and UV-Vis optical transmittance measurements. TiO2 thin films were prepared by dissolving TiO2 Nano-powders into a solvent of ethanol and it becomes sol-gel. The sol-gel of TiO2 was deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. Then, the TiO2 the thin films were inserted into tube furnace for annealing in the temperature range of 3000C to 5000C during 60 minutes. Based on the xray diffraction results, the crystal structure of TiO2 is anatase phase structures. The crystalline size of TiO2 films after annealing at 300°C was 46.6 nm and it slightly decreased to 46.2 nm after annealing at 500°C. The optical transmittance value of TiO2 film increased after annealing in comparison before annealing the TiO2 film.