Nitrogen doped titanium oxide (N:TiOx) thin films were deposited using filtered vacuum arc deposition. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the TiO2 thin films deposited in a pure oxygen environment indicated that films were polycrystalline in the anatase phase, while films deposited in an atmosphere in which the N-2 fraction was greater than 9% were amorphous, for substrate temperatures up to 500 degrees C. Annealing at 400 degrees C in N-2 for 1 h generated polycrystalline films with anatase phase, independent of %N2 during deposition. Film surface roughness increased from 0.5 up to 3.2 nm when the substrate temperature was increased from room temperature to 500 degrees C for films deposited in a 41% N-2. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that all films deposited in pure oxygen were stoichiometric TiO2. N content in the films increased with %N-2 in the deposition atmosphere, however the N-content in the film, 1-5 at.% N, was much less than that in the gas mixture (9-69% N-2). Annealing decreased the N-content in these films to b1 at.%. In addition, the data revealed that all N:TiOx films had two main N 1s components, at 396-397 eV and at 399-400 eV, associated with substitutional and interstitial nitrogen, respectively. Transmission data indicated that the average transmission of films deposited at lower N-2 partial pressures (<41%) was approximately 80%, and it decreased to similar to 50% for higher % N-2. The absorption edge of the films shifted to longer wavelengths with increased substrate temperature and % N-2, from similar to 380 nm up to similar to 485 nm for films deposited with 41% N-2 and a substrate temperature of 500 degrees C. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.