Thermal Effect on Mechanical Properties of Titanium Oxide Thin Films for Thermoelectric Applications

This paper presents the analysis of temperature effect on the mechanical properties of titanium dioxide thin films. The films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition using three different oxygen pressures (1x10(-6)mbar, 1x10(-4)mbar and 1x10(-3)mbar). The thickness of the films varied between 200nm and 350nm as a function of the deposition pressure. This material can be implemented in thermoelectrical application where operates under different thermal gradients. The temperature effect on hardness and modulus of elasticity were determined by nanoindentation tests. In order to achieve the main goal of this study, the tests were performed at temperatures between 20 degrees C and 100 degrees C. The results pointed out a decrease of both mechanical properties with the increase of temperature. The small influence of temperature on the mechanical properties is determined for the thin film deposited in vacuum (1x10(-6)mbar).