Electrical and antistatic properties of magnetron sputtered thin films based on TiO2:(V, Ta)

In this paper electrical and antistatic properties of magnetron sputtered thin films based on TiO₂:(V, Ta) were investigated. Ability to dissipate static charge from the surface is important issue in case of various types of materials. Static electricity can cause a lot of risks and problems, especially in hazardous places and environments. Antistatic properties of different thin films were assessed on the basis of resistance values and decay times of static charge. Decay times of static charge generated by corona discharge showed that investigation of resistance values of samples is insufficient in case of antistatic properties assessment. Samples of TiO₂:(V, Ta), TiO₂:(V, Ta, Co) and TiO₂:(V, Ta, Cr) exhibited excellent ability to dissipate static charge from their surfaces, however thin film of TiO₂:(V, Ta, W) has very poor antistatic properties due to very long decay time. This results are surprising, because TiO₂:(V, Ta, Cr) exhibited the highest value of resistance, while decay time was the shortest from all measured samples.