Electrical Characterization of TiO(2) Thin Films Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

Titanium dioxide has received considerable interest in the study of nanomaterials. The material has been proposed for use in a variety of applications ranging from chemical sensors to dye sensitized solar cells. Titanium dioxide nanotubes, nanoparticles and porous films are frequently tested in these roles. This work attempts to characterize the properties of nanoscale TiO(2) by looking at thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Thin films can be patterned with traditional lithography techniques. Their reproducibility is one advantage over materials such as nanotubes, which are often produced with a random distribution of sizes. Electrical characteristics are studied as a function of both film thickness and length, and the effects of temperature and gas environment are observed.