TY - GEN A1 - Kotwica, Tomasz A1 - Domaradzki, Jarosław A1 - Wojcieszak, Damian A1 - Sikora, Andrzej A1 - Kot, Małgorzata A1 - Schmeißer, Dieter T1 - Analysis of surface properties of Ti-Cu-Ox gradient thin films using AFM and XPS investigations T2 - Materials Science-Poland N2 - The paper presents results of investigations on surface properties of transparent semiconducting thin films based on (Ti-Cu)oxide system prepared using multi-magnetron sputtering system. The thin films were prepared using two programmed profiles of pulse widt hmodulation coefficient, so called V- and U-shape profiles. The applied powering profiles allowed fabrication of thin films with gradient distribution of Ti and Cu elements over the thickness of deposited layers. Optical investigations allowed determination of transparency of prepared films that reached up to 60 % in the visible part of optical radiation, which makes them attractive for the transparent electronics domain. Surface properties investigations showed that the surface of mixed (Ti-Cu)oxides was sensitive to adsorption, in particular to carbon dioxide and water vapor. Soft etching with argon ions resulted in surface cleaning from residuals, however, deoxidation of Cu-oxide components was also observed. KW - surface KW - gradient distribution KW - thin film oxide Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2478/msp-2018-0100 SN - 0137-1339 SN - 2083-1331 SN - 2083-134X VL - 36 IS - 4 SP - 761 EP - 768 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Obstarczyk, Agata A1 - Kaczmarek, Danuta A1 - Wojcieszak, Damian A1 - Mazur, Michał A1 - Domaradzki, Jarosław A1 - Kotwica, Tomasz A1 - Pastuszek, Roman A1 - Schmeißer, Dieter A1 - Mazur, Piotr A1 - Kot, Małgorzata T1 - Tailoring optical and electrical properties of thin-film coatings based on mixed Hf and Ti oxides for optoelectronic application T2 - Materials and Design N2 - In this work multi-magnetron sputtering stand was used for the deposition of the mixed oxides thin films based on HfO2 and TiO2. In order to obtain various material composition the power released to each magnetron (containing metallic hafnium and titanium targets) was precisely selected. Structural, surface, optical, electrical and mechanical properties of as-deposited coatings were analyzed. Depending on the hafnium content in the deposited thin films various types of the microstructure was obtained, i.e. HfO2-monoclinic, amorphous and TiO2-rutile. Increase of Ti content above 28 at. % in the as-prepared mixed oxides coatings caused their amorphization. It was found that with an increase of Ti content in prepared coatings their surface roughness and simultaneously water contact angle decreased. Performed measurements of electrical properties revealed that the lowest leakage current density in the range of 10−7 – 10−8 A/cm2 was obtained for amorphous coatings. Moreover, the tailoring of the dielectric constant was possible by a proper selection of material composition and microstructure of the deposited thin films. Average transparency in the visible wavelength region was in the range of ca. 79–86%. The influence of material composition and structure on shifting of the fundamental absorption edge and optical bandgap energy was also observed. The refractive index increased with an increase of Ti content, while extinction coefficient was the lowest for amorphous coatings. Additionally, hardness values were dependent on the material composition and optical packing density and were in the range from 7.6 GPa to 10.1 GPa. KW - Magnetron sputtering KW - Optical coatings KW - Electrical properties KW - Mixed oxides KW - HfO2 KW - TiO2 KW - High-k oxides KW - Amorphous thin films Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2019.107822 SN - 0264-1275 VL - 175 ER -