1 research outputs found
Enhanced Metal–Insulator Transition Performance in Scalable Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films Prepared Using a Moisture-Assisted Chemical Solution Approach
Vanadium
dioxide (VO<sub>2</sub>) is a strong-correlated metal–oxide
with a sharp metal–insulator transition (MIT) for a range of
applications. However, synthesizing epitaxial VO<sub>2</sub> films
with desired properties has been a challenge because of the difficulty
in controlling the oxygen stoichiometry of VO<sub><i>x</i></sub>, where <i>x</i> can be in the range of 1 < <i>x</i> < 2.5 and V has multiple valence states. Herein, a
unique moisture-assisted chemical solution approach has been developed
to successfully manipulate the oxygen stoichiometry, to significantly
broaden the growth window, and to significantly enhance the MIT performance
of VO<sub>2</sub> films. The obvious broadening of the growth window
of stoichiometric VO<sub>2</sub> thin films, from 4 to 36 °C,
is ascribed to a self-adjusted process for oxygen partial pressure
at different temperatures by introducing moisture. A resistance change
as large as 4 orders of magnitude has been achieved in VO<sub>2</sub> thin films with a sharp transition width of less than 1 °C.
The much enhanced MIT properties can be attributed to the higher and
more uniform oxygen stoichiometry. This technique is not only scientifically
interesting but also technologically important for fabricating wafer-scaled
VO<sub>2</sub> films with uniform properties for practical device
applications