Metal–Insulator Transitions in Stable V2O3 Thin Films: Atomic Layer Deposition and Postdeposition Annealing Studies

Abstract

New, stable V2O3 thin films are prepared using VO(acac)2 and ozone (O3) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and a post‐treatment process on a c‐Al2O3 substrate. The obtained V2O3 thin films are crystalline, and have single‐phase and rhombohedral structure. The present ALD process yields a thickness of 48 nm by 1000 ALD cycles at a temperature of 200 °C; it portrays uniformity on planar sapphire substrates. The V2O3 films (48 nm) exhibit a sharp metal–insulator transition (MIT) at a temperature of ≈165 K with five orders of magnitude change in electrical resistivity.