Properties of VO2 Films Sputter-Deposited from V2O5 Target

Abstract

Rutile VO2 is a thermochromic material that exhibits a reversible metal-insulator phase transition upon thermal cycling. A new deposition process of rutile VO2 from a V2O5 target was developed using reactive oxygen instead of hydrogen. Adjusting the substrate temperature and the oxygen flow ratio changes the compositions and phases of the as-deposited films into rutile VO2 under optimum deposition conditions on the Si and thick glass substrates. Crystalline phases analyzed by X-ray diffraction shows the relationship among V4O9, V6O13, and VO2 films prepared under different deposition conditions. Analysis by AFM shows that VO2 films grown at higher substrate temperatures have larger grain size. The optical switching property of VO2 was measured at a wavelength of 1.5 µm and transition temperature around 45°C was also measured. Inhomogeneity and the strained structure of the film are suggested to be the reasons of transition temperature lower than typical reported value because the impurity in the target is too low to be detected quantatively by ICP.