Rutile and anatase mixed crystal TiO2 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract The epitaxial growths of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The dependencies of the crystalline structure of prepared films upon buffer O 2 gas pressure, laser power and substrate were studied. The crystalline structures were found by the X-ray diffraction method to be a mixture of rutile and anatase on α-Al 2 O 3 , and anatase on LaAlO 3 . The crystallite sizes were calculated to be about 10 nm by applying the Scherrer equation to the diffraction peaks. The sizes were increased by collisions between evaporated particles and O 2 . The growth of mixed crystal is caused by the competitive process between lattice misfit-induced epitaxy and thermodynamic stability.