An Influence of Oxygen Flow Rate on Structural, Optical and Tribological Properties of Molybdenum Oxide Thin Films

The influence of oxygen flow rate is examined on structural, optical and tribological properties of molybdenum oxide films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and contact angle measurement system. The optical properties of the films were measured by UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer and transmittance of ∼73% in the visible region of the spectrum was achieved. The band gap increases with increases in oxygen gas flow rate. AFM figure illustrates that the roughness of surface increases as oxygen flow rate increases. As oxygen increases wear rate and COF decreases while at the 18 sccm the lowest wear rate found.