Effect of oxygen deposition pressure on the structure and the metal insulator transition in pulsed laser deposited VO2 films on soda lime glass

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide thin films nanostructures were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition on soda lime glass at a substrate temperature of 600°C and the effects of the oxygen deposition pressure on the crystalline structure and the phase transition characteristics of VO2 nanostructured films were investigated. The structure and microstructure of the films have been examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results indicate that the crystal structure of the films is strongly sensitive to the oxygen deposition pressure; exhibiting sharp a-axis diffraction peaks, showing a texturation along (1 0 0) plane. A detailed description of the growth mechanisms and the substrate–film interaction is given, and the characteristics of the electronic transition and hysteresis of the phase transition are described in terms of the morphology, grain boundary structure and crystal orientation. The sharpness of the transition and the hysteresis upon heating and cooling are found to be strong functions of the crystal structure and microstructure (grain size).