A microstructural approach toward the effect of thickness on semiconductor-to-metal transition characteristics of VO{sub 2} epilayers

Journal Article · Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4872030· OSTI ID:22273494

Wu, F.; Narayan, J. ^[1]; Bayati, R. ^[2]

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1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, EB-1, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7907 (United States)
2. Intel Corporation, IMO-SC, SC2, Santa Clara, California 95054 (United States)

We report the control of semiconductor to metal transition in VO{sub 2}(010) epilayers integrated with Si(100) substrates buffered with an NiO[111]/YSZ[100] intermediate layer. VO{sub 2} epitaxial thin films were grown at different thicknesses varying from 10 to 200 nm using pulsed laser deposition technique. An epitaxial relationship of VO{sub 2}(010)‖NiO(111)‖ YSZ(001)‖Si(001) and VO{sub 2}[100]‖NiO[110]‖ YSZ[100]‖Si[100] was established at room temperature. The crystallographic alignment across the VO{sub 2}/NiO interface changes to VO{sub 2}(100)‖NiO(111) and VO{sub 2}[001]‖NiO[110] at the temperature of growth giving rise to a misfit strain of about 33.5% and 3.0% along two orthogonal in-plane orientations. The transition temperature was observed to vary from about 353 to 341 K, the transition amplitude increased by about five orders of magnitude, and the hysteresis decreased to about 3 K, as the thickness of VO{sub 2} layers increased from about 10 to 200 nm. These observations were explained based on strain characteristics, overall defect content and grain boundaries, and phenomenological thermodynamic models.

• OSTI ID: 22273494
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
ENERGY BEAM DEPOSITION
EPITAXY
GRAIN BOUNDARIES
INTERFACES
LASER RADIATION
LAYERS
NICKEL OXIDES
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PULSED IRRADIATION
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICON
STRAINS
SUBSTRATES
THICKNESS
THIN FILMS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
VANADIUM OXIDES
YTTRIUM OXIDES
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES