Structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline a-MoO3 thin films prepared at different annealing temperatures

Abstract Nanocrystalline a-MoO3 thin films were prepared successfully by thermal annealing of molybdenum (Mo) thin films deposited on quartz and silicon substrates using DC magnetron sputtering method. The influence of annealing temperatures ranging from 400 to 1,000 C on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the prepared films was investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) atomic force microscopic and UV–vis spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that the crystallinity and surface morphology of the films are strongly dependent on the annealing temperature. Also, the optimum annealing temperature of Mo films in our experiment was 600 C and the films formed at this temperature exhibit only the (0k0) reflections and indicated the layered structure of a-MoO3. The FTIR spectra confirm the formation of MoO3. The transmittance of the MoO3 films on quartz substrate was improved with increasing annealing temperature.