Influence of substrate on structural properties of TiO2 thin films obtained via MOCVD

Among the techniques developed for depositing thin films, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition is one of the most promising. In the present work, the deposition of TiO2 thin films on stainless steel, titanium, barium borosilicate glass and alumina substrates, using titanium tetraisopropoxide as a precursor, was investigated. The films were deposited at 420 °C. The resulting film phase, checked by X-ray powder diffraction, was found to be polycrystalline anatase and was oriented with the a axis perpendicular to the substrate surface, except for alumina substrates where titania films were randomly oriented. Some considerations on texture and crystallite size as a function of film thickness are reported. Annealing up to 1100 °C induced the complete anatase-rutile transformation on alumina substrates.