Abstract

Organic self assembled monolayer (SAMs) on p-type silicon (001) single crystal wafers were used as substrates for the formation of TiO₂ films from aqueous solution. It was previously shown that this organic modification allows the formation of homogeneous thin films of TiO₂ below 100 °C under static conditions. The formation of a titanium complex in the presence of H₂O₂ is used to avoid the otherwise spontaneous precipitation of titania from the aqueous solution. In the present paper, the synthesis of TiO₂ thin films is realized by a continuous flow method (cfm). In this method the silicon substrate is placed in a cylindrical reaction chamber, through which the solution is pumped with a constant flow rate. SEM, TEM, ellipsometry and XPS measurements illustrate that this technique allows deposition of thicker films than are obtained using a static deposition method, while achieving similar homogeneity. The films are crystalline and a uniform surface topography can be achieved.