Investigation and characterization of ph effect on tio2 thin film surface

INVESTIGATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PH EFFECT ON TiO2 THIN FILM SURFACE ABSTRACT Thin film solar technology is used various devices that convert the sun light into electrical energy. These applications have been crucial for human life since they supply us clean and alternative energy sources. For this application many components can be used Cu2S, CdTe, CIGS, CNTS, and TiO2 etc. TiO2 is one of them and preferable for this technology because of its good electrical and physical properties. TiO2 based solutions prepared completely transparent are coated on ITO glass with different Ph values, sol gel dip coating method. This coated glass annealed with same temperature and same holding time. Previous research shows that pH factor has significant effect on the surface morphology of films. Surface area and surface roughness are pH dependent parameters that very important for light conversion efficiency. In this study, the effect of pH on thin film surface morphology is investigated. 4 different Ph values sols are coated on ITO glass. These glasses annealed in the furnace with same temperatures and same holding time. The results are determined with several methods. Chemical properties determine by X-ray photoelectron scanning (XPS), X ray diffraction scanning (XRD) surface properties and roughness values investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ellipsometry. The XPS and XRD results show that, because of the low working temperatures there is not any change in chemical structure of TiO2. The material that we study is glass. Above 600°C chemical structure of glass can be deteriorated. We carried out our experiment below this temperature. Keywords: TiO2, Thin Film, pH, surface area, surface roughness.