Cited by 62Optical Coatings and GratingsTransition Metal Oxide NanomaterialsMetal and Thin Film Mechanics

Investigation of Antireflection Nb2O5 Thin Films by the Sputtering Method under Different Deposition Parameters

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Chen, Kun-Neng, Hsu, Chao-Ming, Liu, Jing, Liou, Yu-Chen, Yang, Cheng-Fu·2016·Micromachines

Abstract

In this study, Nb2O5 ceramic was used as the target to deposit the Nb2O5 thin films on glass substrates with the radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method. Different deposition temperatures and O2 ratios were used as parameters to investigate the optical properties of Nb2O5 thin films. The deposition parameters were a pressure of 5 × 10−3 Torr, a deposition power of 100 W, a deposition time of 30 min, an O2 ratio (O2/(O2 + Ar), in sccm) of 10% and 20%, and deposition temperatures of room temperature (RT), 200, 300 and 400 °C, respectively. We found that even if the deposition temperature was 400 °C, the deposited Nb2O5 thin films revealed an amorphous phase and no crystallization phase was observed. The optical properties of transmittance of Nb2O5 thin films deposited on glass substrates were determined by using a ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer (transmittance) and reflectance spectra transmittance (reflectance, refractive index, and extinction coefficient) in the light wavelength range of 250–1000 nm. When the O2 ratio was 10% and the deposition temperature increased from RT to 200 °C, the red-shift was clearly observed in the transmittance curve and the transmission ratio had no apparent change with the increasing deposition temperature. When the O2 ratio was 20%, the red-shift was not observed in the transmittance curve and the transmission ratio apparently decreased with the increasing deposition temperature. The variations in the optical band gap (Eg) values of Nb2O5 thin films were evaluated from the Tauc plot by using the quantity hν (the photon energy) on the abscissa and the quantity (αhν)r on the ordinate, where α is the optical absorption coefficient, c is the constant for direct transition, h is Planck’s constant, ν is the frequency of the incident photon, and the exponent r denotes the nature of the transition. As the O2 ratio of 10% or 20% was used as the deposition atmosphere, the measured Eg values decreased with the increase of the deposition temperature. The reflectance ratio, extinction coefficient, and refractive index curves of Nb2O5 thin films were also investigated in this study. We would show that those results were influenced by the deposition temperature and O2 ratio.

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  • Nb2O5 is a viable alternative to SiO2 as a high-refractive-index material, with a low absorption coefficient, wide transparency range, water/air stability and resistance to acidic environments.

    “Another oxide material is niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5), which represents a viable alternative to SiO2 in the category of materials with a high refractive index. Along with a desirable low absorption coefficient and a wide transparency range, its water/air stability and resistance to acidic environments make it the perfect candidate for both optical and electronic applications [39,40].”

    From Metal Oxide Thin Films for Advanced Photonic Applications (2026) · cites this paper as [39]

    The Introduction describes Nb2O5 thin films as high-index, low-loss materials with high transparency in the UV–visible–near-infrared range, stability in air and water, and resistance to acids and bases. It also calls Nb2O5 attractive for optical and electronic applications. The copy does not establish that Nb2O5 is an alternative to SiO2; a search for SiO2 found no comparison. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [28]Lvovsky A.I. Fresnel equations Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering Taylor & Francis New York, NY, USA 2013 1 6

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Authors
Chen, K.-N., Hsu, C.-M., Liu, J., Liou, Y.-C., & Yang, C.-F.
Affiliations
  • Kun Shan University (TW)
  • National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences (TW)
  • Jimei University (CN)
  • National University of Kaohsiung (TW)
Corresponding author
Yang, Cheng-Fu
Venue
Micromachines
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2016-09-01
Volume
7
Issue
9
Pages
151
ISSN
2072-666X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2509050379
Cited by
61
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3
FWCI
1.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Micromachines (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Surfaces, Coatings and Films › Optical Coatings and Gratings
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanics of Materials › Metal and Thin Film Mechanics
Keywords
Nb2O5 thin films, antireflection coatings, RF magnetron sputtering, deposition temperature, oxygen partial pressure, optical band gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient, optical transmittance, amorphous films, glass substrates, Tauc plot, crystallization suppression, thin film optical properties, sputter deposition

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