Magnesium Oxide Thin Films with Tunable Crystallographic Preferred Orientation via Aerosol-Assisted CVD†

Abstract

Magnesium oxide films are deposited on glass via aerosol-assisted (AA)CVD. Depositions using magnesium acetate tetrahydrate in ethanol or methanol are carried out at 400, 500, and 600 °C. Films are analyzed by various methods. Growth rate, film thickness, and crystallite size increase with temperature, regardless of solvent. The films are crystalline and the crystallographic preferred orientation varies with solvent and temperature, allowing fine-tuning for industrial applications. Solvent and temperature influence the surface morphology; films deposited using ethanol consist of small surface structures compared to the featureless morphology of methanol-derived films. The refractive index of the films is 1.72 for methanol and 1.70 for ethanol systems.