Properties of TiO(x) films prepared by electron-beam evaporation of titanium and titanium suboxides

The titanium suboxides TiO, Ti2O, and Ti3O5 are widely used to produce films of titanium dioxide by reactive evaporation. If they are evaporated in high vacuum, however, they yield absorbing TiO(x) films with a transmission color varying between blue and gray. We investigated the specific properties of these TiO(x) film. TiO, Ti2O3, Ti3O5, and titanium metal were evaporated in high vacuum upon glass substrates at 25 degrees and 250 degrees C. Differences in chemical composition, transmission and reflection, color, stress, and abrasion resistance of these fims, depending on the starting material and the substrate temperature, were evaluated.