Modifications in structural and electronic properties of TiO{sub 2} thin films using swift heavy ion irradiation

Journal Article · Sat Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3657466· OSTI ID:22038742

Thakur, Hardeep; Sharma, K K ^[1]; Kumar, Ravi ^[2]; Thakur, P; Brookes, N B ^[3]; Pratap Singh, Abhinav; Kumar, Yogesh ^[4]; Gautam, S; Chae, K H ^[5]

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1. Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur 177005 (India)
2. Center for Material Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur 177005 (India)
3. European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex (France)
4. Material Science Division, Inter-University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067 (India)
5. Nano Analysis Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of)

We report on the structural and electronic properties of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiated pristine TiO{sub 2} thin films, deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on sapphire substrates. The high resolution x-ray diffraction and Raman measurements show a structural phase transition from anatase to admixture of brookite and rutile phases of TiO{sub 2} with increasing SHI fluence followed by a significant distortion in the TiO{sub 6} octahedra. The modification in the electronic structure stimulated by SHI irradiation has been investigated using x-ray absorption (XAS) experiments at the O K and Ti L{sub 3,2} absorption edges. The O K edge spectra clearly indicate the splitting of the pre-edge spectral features having t{sub 2g} and e{sub g} symmetry bands due to structural disorder/distortion induced by irradiation. The intensity of the SHI generated components at the O K edge increases monotonically, which can be correlated to the modification in unoccupancies associated with O 2 p orbitals hybridized with Ti 3 d states. The XAS spectra at the Ti L{sub 3,2} edge further authenticate that SHI creates a controlled structural disorder/distortion in the TiO{sub 6} octahedra.

• OSTI ID: 22038742
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 110, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY
D STATES
DEPOSITION
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
HEAVY IONS
ION BEAMS
IRRADIATION
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RAMAN SPECTRA
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS
TITANIUM OXIDES
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
X-RAY SPECTRA
X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY