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Vol. 9 No. 3 (2017)

Effect of Al2O3 Buffer Layers on the Properties of Sputtered VO2 Thin Films

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-017-0132-x
Dainan Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, People’s Republic of China
Tianlong Wen
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, People’s Republic of China
Ying Xiong
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, People’s Republic of China
Donghong Qiu
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, People’s Republic of China
Qiye Wen
State Key Laboratory of Electronic Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Tianlong Wen

halong@uestc.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 9 No. 3 (2017), Article Number: 29

Abstract

VO2 thin films were grown on silicon substrates using Al2O3 thin films as the buffer layers. Compared with direct deposition on silicon, VO2 thin films deposited on Al2O3 buffer layers experience a significant improvement in their microstructures and physical properties. By optimizing the growth conditions, the resistance of VO2 thin films can change by four orders of magnitude with a reduced thermal hysteresis of 4 °C at the phase transition temperature. The electrically driven phase transformation was measured in Pt/Si/Al2O3/VO2/Au heterostructures. The introduction of a buffer layer reduces the leakage current and Joule heating during electrically driven phase transitions. The C–V measurement result indicates that the phase transformation of VO2 thin films can be induced by an electrical field.


Highlights:


1 High-quality VO2 thin films were obtained on silicon substrates by introducing an Al2O3 buffer layer prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) under different growth conditions.
2 The fast, electrically driven phase transition of VO2 thin films was studied, and a possible mechanism was proposed according to the C–V measurement at a high frequency.

Keywords

Al2O3 Buffer layers Atomic layer deposition VO2 thin films Heterostructure
Zhang, Dainan, Tianlong Wen, Ying Xiong, Donghong Qiu, and Qiye Wen. 2017. “Effect of Al2O3 Buffer Layers on the Properties of Sputtered VO2 Thin Films”. Nano-Micro Letters 9 (3):29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-017-0132-x.
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