Improvement of optical properties of TiO2 thin film treated with electron beam

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films on silicon wafer substrates were prepared by sol-gel spin coating process. The prepared thin films were treated with electron beam (1.1 MeV, 300 kGy) at air atmosphere. The effects of electron-beam (EB) irradiation on the structural and optical properties of the TiO2 thin films were investigated. The structures of all the TiO2 thin films by XRD analysis showed an anatase phase, and the phase remained unchanged within the investigating range of EB treatment. The thickness of the titania thin film decreased slightly with EB treatment whereas the porosity increased. The EB treatment of TiO2 thin film can increase the proportion of Ti3+ in Ti2p at the thin film surface. The optical transmittance of the film in the wavelength ranges of above 380 nm increased after the EB treatment while its refractive index decreased with increasing EB dose. Therefore, improvement of the optical properties could be due to the change in both surface chemistry and morphology of the TiO2 thin films affected by EB irradiation.