Effect of noble metal nanoparticles in transition metal oxide magnetron sputtering

The purpose of this work is to study the transition metal oxides with metal nanoparticles structures formation features. A design technology is proposed, consisting of the oxide matrix magnetron sputtering, noble metal nanoparticles thermal evaporation and dewetting, and covering it with oxide. Gold nanoparticles, nickel and titanium oxides were used as materials under investigation. Metal-induced catalytic growth of nickel and titanium oxides on gold nanoparticles has been found. It is shown that the top layer being formed has a pronounced texture. During the process, cones are formed with an opening angle of 10–12° and a predominant growth direction coinciding with the crystallographic axis perpendicular to the (111) surface. The optical and electrical characteristics of the formed coatings were studied. The results obtained indicate a broad prospect of using the formed structures in the field of integrated optoelectronic devices.