Optical, morphological and nano-mechanical properties of chromium oxide thin films fabricated by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering

In this research, two transparent chromium oxide thin films having different thickness values were simultaneously deposited on glass substrates by adjusting target-substrate distance by means of radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of film thickness on optical, morphological and nano-mechanical properties of the produced thin films were analyzed by using UV-VIS spectrophotometer, interferometer, tensiometer and atomic force microscope. The transmittance and absorbance of the films were measured in the incident photon wavelength range of 300–1000 nm. The optical energy band gap value of the produced thin films was estimated to be approximately 4 eV from the obtained absorbance data via Tauc's method. According to the results obtained from nano-mechanical tests, the produced thin films were highly scratch resistant. From the wetting experiments, it was found that the surfaces of the films were hydrophilic.