Modulation of electrical mobility in Au ion irradiated titanium oxide with crystal field splitting

Electrical modulation of radio frequency (RF) sputtered TiO2−x films were investigated as a function of Au swift heavy ion irradiation dose at room temperature. The prepared TiO2−x films were irradiated with 130 MeV Au swift heavy ion in the range from 1 × 1011 to 5 × 1012 ions/cm2. As the Au ion irradiation dose increased up to 1 × 1012 ions/cm2, the electrical mobility of TiO2−x films were dramatically increased 3.07 × 102 cm2 V−1 s−1 without the change of carrier concentration. These changes in electrical properties of Au irradiated TiO2−x film, are related to the modification of electronic structure such as crystal field splitting of Ti 3d orbital hybridization and sub-band edge states below the conduction band as a function of Au swift heavy ion irradiation dose.