Study of the Optoelectronic Properties of Titanium Nitride Thin Films Deposited on Glass by Reactive Sputtering in the Cathodic Cage

We investigate the structural, optical, thermal-optical, and electronic properties of TiNx thin films utilizing a variety of experimental techniques, including spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, thermal lens spectroscopy, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. Our experimental results indicate a remarkable metallic character in the TiNx thin films deposited under lower N2 flow during treatment, as well as an increase in reflectance in the infrared region and thermal diffusivity as the partial N2 flow is reduced, which is consistent with previous experimental studies. The microscopic origin of these trends is explained in terms of the atomic structure of the system, where Ti atoms contribute free carriers that interact with IR radiation and N atoms create imperfections in the lattice, causing greater scattering of phonons, respectively. The experimental results also indicate that the roughness of the films produced with a lower N2 partial flow was lower than that of the films with a higher N2 partial flow. To explain the deviation of optical properties from the ideal case, surface oxidation is also investigated. This facilitates the coating of smarting windows with TiNx thin films.