Contribution of Drude and Brendel Model Terms to the Dielectric Function; A case of TiO2:Nb Thin Films

Abstract

Parametric modeling provides a mean of deeper understanding to the properties of materials. Dielectric function is one of the key parameters which can provide information on the dielectric nature of a thin film or bulk materials. It can be obtained by modeling the material using appropriate existing, new or modified models. In our work, we utilized existing Brendel and Drude models to extract the optical constants from spectrophotometric data of fabricated undoped and niobium doped titanium oxide thin films. The individual contributions by the two models were studied to establish influence on the dielectric function. The effect of dopants on their influences was also analyzed. Results indicate a minimal contribution from the Drude term due to the dielectric nature of the undoped films. However as doping levels increase, the rise in the concentration of free electrons favors the use of Drude model.