Sorbed water and intrinsic stress in composite TiO2-SiO2 films

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Abstract
Water sorption and stress properties of mixed composition TiO2‐SiO2 thin films, formed by reactive evaporative codeposition, were studied. These properties were observed to depend on the composition, and also on the reactive gas pressure and annealing conditions. Process conditions to produce water‐free films were established. Detailed stress studies in vacuum and in ambient indicated that intrisic stress also depends on ambient conditions, with irreversible changes occurring during the initial exposure of the films to ambient. This induced opposite types of stress on TiO2‐ and SiO2‐rich films. These observations can be explained in terms of the structural and compositional properties of the films.