Composite titanium oxide nanocolumnar thin films for low-emissivity coating

The TiO_X thin films were grown on the glass substrate for the low-e film applications by direct-current magnetron sputtering methods. The composite nature of dielectric and metallic phases including Ti₂O₃, TiO₂ and amorphous TiOx were identified from the comparative study of x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The coalescent nanocolumnar structure revealed from scanning electron microscopy is believed to be responsible for the absence of the interference in the transmission. Most interestingly, the narrow transmittance bands from the films were observed in the visible region, especially in the violet-blue-green color portion, which could be ideal for the applications of narrow band-pass filters or red/infrared reflectors.