Annealing-induced structural changes in tellurium dioxide thin films

Abstract

Tellurium dioxide (TeO2) thin films grown in amorphous phase up to a substrate temperature of 200 degrees C undergo phase transformation in the polycrystalline state, when annealed, from a mixed phase of orthorhombic and tetragonal structure to pure tetragonal structure as a function of annealing temperature. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy have been used for elucidation of structural details and scanning electron microscopy has been employed to study surface topography of the films.