Optical properties of spin-on deposited low temperature titanium oxide thin films

This letter presents a method to fabricate high quality, high refractive index titanium oxide thin films by applying liquid phase spin-on deposition combined with low temperature annealing. The synthesis of the liquid form titanium oxide material is carried out using a sol-gel synthesis technique. The material can be annealed at low temperature (150 Cdegrees) to achieve relatively high refractive index of 1.94 at 632.8 nm wavelength, whereas annealing at 350 Cdegrees results in index of 2.03 at 632.8 nm. Film depositions are demonstrated on silicon substrates with 0.5% uniformity in thickness. Refractive indices and extinction coefficients are characterized over a broad wavelength range to demonstrate the optical performance of this novel aqueous phase spin-on deposited hybrid titanium oxide material. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.