Controlling the Optical Properties of Hafnium Dioxide Thin Films Deposited with Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Beam Deposition
Open accessAbstract
The effects of reactive and sputtering oxygen partial pressure on the structure, stoichiometry and optical properties of hafnium oxide (HfO2) thin films have been systematically investigated. The electron cyclotron resonance ion beam deposition (ECR-IBD) technique was used to fabricate the films on to JGS-3 fused silica substrates. The amorphous structure of HfO2 films were determined by X-ray Diffraction. Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry were carried out for the composition and stoichiometry analysis, where this suggests the formation of over-stoichiometric films. The data suggests that the O:Hf ratio ranges from 2.4 – 4.45 to 1 for the ECR-IBD fabricated HfO2 films in this study. The transmission and reflectance spectra of the HfO2 films were measured over a wide range of wavelengths (λ = 185 – 3000 nm) by utilizing a spectrophotometer. The measured spectra were analyzed by an optical fitting software, which utilizes the model modified by O'Leary, Johnson and Lim, to extract the optical properties, refractive index (n) and the bandgap energy (E0). By varying the reactive and sputtering oxygen partial pressure, the optical properties were found to be n = 1.70 – 1.91, and E0 = 5.6 – 6.0 eV. This study provides a flexible method for tuning the optical properties of HfO2 coatings by controlling the mixture of reactive and sputtering gas.
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Ion beam sputtering produces thin films with low scattering and absorption and high density (and thus high refractive index).
“This deposition method is valued for its ability to produce thin films with low scattering and absorption and a high density (and thus a high refractive index) [50,72].”
From Metal Oxide Thin Films for Advanced Photonic Applications (2026) · cites this paper as [72]
The Discussion (p. 6) links higher packing density in the ECR-IBD hafnia films to higher refractive index, and the Conclusion (p. 7) describes the films as high-density. The Discussion (p. 5) reports high transmission, but our copy does not establish low scattering or low film absorption as general properties of ion beam sputtering. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
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“This deposition method is valued for its ability to produce thin films with low scattering and absorption and a high density (and thus a high refractive index) [50,72].”
- Authors
- Gier, C., Ben Yaala, M., Wiseman, C., MacFoy, S., Chicoine, M., Schiettekatte, F., Hough, J., Rowan, S., Martin, I., MacKay, P., & Reid, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Strathclyde (GB)
- Université de Montréal (CA)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- Gooch & Housego (United Kingdom) (GB)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Thin Solid Films
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-04
- Volume
- 771
- Pages
- 139781
- ISSN
- 0040-6090 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4323275872
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 1.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Thin Solid Films (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Strathprints: The University of Strathclyde institutional repository (University of Strathclyde) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Strathclyde
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/S001832/1, ST/T003367/1)
- University of Glasgow
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Surfaces, Coatings and Films › Optical Coatings and Gratings
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Semiconductor materials and devices
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
- Keywords
- hafnium oxide, HfO2 thin films, optical properties, refractive index, band gap, oxygen partial pressure, stoichiometry, amorphous films
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