Band alignment and effective work function of atomic‐layer deposited VO2 and V2O5 films on SiO2 and Al2O3

Abstract

AbstractThe effective work function (EWF) and the energy position of the valence band in 20‐40‐nm thick VO2and V2O5layers grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on top of insulating SiO2 and γ‐Al2O3 films were evaluated using the comparison between capacitance‐voltage and internal photoemission measurements. From the capacitance measured at different temperatures on the metal‐VO2(V2O5)‐insulator‐silicon and metal‐insulator‐silicon diodes we found that the both studied vanadium oxides have the same EWF as gold electrodes evaporated on the same oxides. This result is further collaborated by the internal photoemission experiments at the VO2/SiO2 and V2O5/SiO2 interfaces which indicate the energy barrier between the top of the vanadium oxide valence band (in the insulating phase) and the insulator conduction band to be 4.1 ± 0.1 eV. Since the transition from the narrow‐gap VO2 to the wide‐gap V2O5 oxide causes no change in the WF or in the photoemission threshold, we conclude that the ALD‐grown VO2 in its insulating phase represents a a heavily‐doped semiconductor which becomes metallic upon metal‐insulator transition without significant EWF change. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)