Structural characteristics of rutile films prepared by direct deposition and neon ion beam assisted deposition

In this article, titanium dioxide films prepared by neon ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) in an oxygen environment were investigated. The deposition rate was varied from 0.2 to 0.4 nm/s while the current density and ion energy were kept at 20 μA/cm² and 40 keV. The structural characteristics of all films were studied by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Results show that all the films exhibit a rutile phase. The location of (2 0 0) diffraction peaks deviated from the standard value. Simultaneously, the relative intensity of (2 0 0)/(1 1 0) peaks decreases with increasing evaporation rate. All results are discussed in terms of surface free energy and ion channeling effects.