This work describes an analysis of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films prepared on silicon substrates by direct current (DC) planar magnetron sputtering system in O2/Ar atmosphere in correlation with three-dimensional (3D) surface characterization using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The samples were grown at temperatures 200, 300, and 400C on silicon substrate using the same deposition time (30 min) and were distributed into four groups: Group I (as-deposited samples), Group II (samples annealed at 200C), Group III (samples annealed at 300C), and Group IV (samples annealed at 400C). AFM images with a size of 0.95 μm × 0.95 μm were recorded with a scanning resolution of 256 × 256 pixels. Stereometric analysis was carried out on the basis of AFM data, and the surface topography was described according to ISO 25178-2:2012 and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B46.1-2009 standards. The maximum and minimum root mean square roughnesses were observed in surfaces of Group II (Sq = 7.96 ± 0.1 nm) and Group IV (Sq = 3.87 ± 0.1 nm), respectively.
