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Various methods used to etch titanium dioxide columnar thin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Martin Roman Kupsta
Affiliation:
mkupsta@ualberta.ca, University of Alberta, Electrical and Computer Engineering, ECERF W2-023, Edmonton, Canada
Mike Taschuk
Affiliation:
mtaschuk@ece.ualberta.ca, University of Alberta, Electrical and Computer Engineering, ECERF W2-023, Edmonton, Canada
Michael J. Brett
Affiliation:
mbrett@ualberta.ca, University of Alberta, Electrical and Computer Engineering, ECERF W2-023, Edmonton, Canada
Jeremy C. Sit
Affiliation:
jsit@ece.ualberta.ca, University of Alberta, Electrical and Computer Engineering, ECERF W2-023, Edmonton, Canada
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Abstract

A dry etch recipe was developed for porous nanostructured TiO2 thin films fabricated using glancing angle deposition (GLAD). Unlike wet chemical etches, the technique reported here preserves the vertical post nanostructure, eliminating clumping. A highly controllable and easily tailored reactive ion etching process with CF4 alone, or combined with O2, was investigated. The anisotropic etch modifies the morphology and density of standard GLAD films, which is of interest for sensing applications.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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