High-rate and low-temperature synthesis of Ti O2, TiN, and Ti O2 TiNTi O2 thin films and study of their optical and interfacial characteristics

Using a newly developed pulsed dc sputtering source with unbalanced magnetrons, we deposited advanced inorganic functional thin films such as Ti O2, TiN, and Ti O2 TiNTi O2 on glass at 200 °C at rates 3 to 4 times greater than those deposited by conventional dc sputtering. The Ti O2 (101) and TiN(100) thin films were stoichiometric and polycrystalline but highly oriented. The Ti O2 films showed high transmittances (90%) in the visible range. The TiN films showed very high reflectances (70%) in the infrared region. However, both transmittance and reflectance are strongly influenced by the thickness and surface roughness. Multilayer films of Ti O2 TiNTi O2 were also deposited on glass, and exhibited good optical properties. The best transmittances (85%) and reflectances (80%) were obtained with a thin film with Ti O2 (370 nm) TiN (22 nm) Ti O2 (450 nm) glass structure. The high IR reflectance suggests the as-grown multilayer film can be used as a heat mirror.