Thermal Oxidation Times Effect on Structural and Morphological Properties of Molybdenum Oxide Thin Films Grown on Quartz Substrates

Molybdenum oxide (α-MoO ) thin films were prepared on quartz and silicon substrates by thermal oxidation of Mo thin films deposited using DC magnetron sputtering method. The influence of thermal oxidation times ranging from 60-240 min on the structural and morphological properties of the preparedfilms was investigated using X-ray diffraction, Atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The XRDresults revealed that the as-deposited film was amorphous while those formed at thermal oxidation times between 60-180 min exhibited polycrystalline orthorhombic molybdenum oxides. The presence of (0k0) reflections in XRD patterns indicated the layered structure of α MoO .Also the surface morphology of the films isdependent on the thermal oxidation times. The FTIR spectrumconfirmed the formation of MoO3 and the peak at 992.53 cm-1implythelayered structure of α-MoO .