Low-temperature deposition of VO2 films with high crystalline degree by embedding multilayered structure

Abstract It is a long-standing challenge in the fabrication of single-phase VO 2 films at low temperature on Si substrate or glass substrate due to their thermodynamic phase-instability and the polymorphic structures. Recently, the demand for high-quality thin films deposited at low temperature is strongly pushed by their applications on devices and smart windows. Thermochromic films of VO 2 , as well as multilayer films of VO 2 /ZnO and VO 2 /TiO 2 /ZnO, were made by magnetron sputtering method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–visible-NIR spectrophotometer, (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) and Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Films with high crystalline degree VO 2 single crystal phase were obtained at a fairly low temperature of 300 °C without subsequent annealing by embedding ZnO and TiO 2 layers between VO 2 and substrates. It is demonstrated that VO 2 /TiO 2 /ZnO films could display higher luminous transmittance and better semiconductor to metal transition (SMT) performance. Our data can serve a promising point for industrial production with high degree of crystallinity at a low temperature.

[1]  Richard F. Haglund,et al.  Semiconductor to metal phase transition in the nucleation and growth of VO2 nanoparticles and thin films , 2004 .

[2]  Y. Shigesato,et al.  Study on Thermochromic VO2 Films Grown on ZnO-Coated Glass Substrates for “Smart Windows” , 2003 .

[3]  M. H. Mamat,et al.  Effect of oxygen flow rate on the ultraviolet sensing properties of zinc oxide nanocolumn arrays grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering , 2016 .

[4]  Jinpeng Wu,et al.  Colossal thermal-mechanical actuation via phase transition in single-crystal VO2 microcantilevers , 2010 .

[5]  Gang Xu,et al.  Thickness dependence of optical properties of VO2 thin films epitaxially grown on sapphire (0001) , 2005 .

[6]  M. Tazawa,et al.  Self-Assembled Multilayer Structure and Enhanced Thermochromic Performance of Spinodally Decomposed TiO2-VO2 Thin Film. , 2016, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[7]  Pedro Barquinha,et al.  Wide-bandgap high-mobility ZnO thin-film transistors produced at room temperature , 2004 .

[8]  Gunnar A. Niklasson,et al.  Low-temperature synthesis of thermochromic vanadium dioxide thin films by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering , 2016 .

[9]  F. J. Morin,et al.  Oxides Which Show a Metal-to-Insulator Transition at the Neel Temperature , 1959 .

[10]  J. Narayan,et al.  Correlation between structure and semiconductor-to-metal transition characteristics of VO2/TiO2/sapphire thin film heterostructures , 2013 .

[11]  Sihai Chen,et al.  Low temperature fabrication of vanadium oxide films for uncooled bolometric detectors , 2006 .

[12]  Xing-Min Cai,et al.  High performance VO2 thin films growth by DC magnetron sputtering at low temperature for smart energy efficient window application , 2016 .

[13]  Roman Engel-Herbert,et al.  Wafer-scale growth of VO2 thin films using a combinatorial approach , 2015, Nature Communications.

[14]  A. Cavalleri,et al.  Femtosecond Structural Dynamics in VO2 during an Ultrafast Solid-Solid Phase Transition. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[15]  Yanfeng Gao,et al.  Enhanced chemical stability of VO2 nanoparticles by the formation of SiO2/VO2 core/shell structures and the application to transparent and flexible VO2-based composite foils with excellent thermochromic properties for solar heat control , 2012 .

[16]  Ping Jin,et al.  TiO2(R)/VO2(M)/TiO2(A) multilayer film as smart window: Combination of energy-saving, antifogging and self-cleaning functions , 2015 .

[17]  Sylvain Fourmaux,et al.  Grain size effect on the semiconductor-metal phase transition characteristics of magnetron-sputtered VO2 thin films , 2005 .

[18]  T. E. Haynes,et al.  Enhanced hysteresis in the semiconductor-to-metal phase transition of VO2 precipitates formed in SiO2 by ion implantation , 2001 .

[19]  Yalin Lu,et al.  Simulation of smart windows in the ZnO/VO2/ZnS sandwiched structure with improved thermochromic properties , 2013 .

[20]  P. Jin,et al.  Modification of Mott phase transition characteristics in VO2@TiO2 core/shell nanostructures by misfit-strained heteroepitaxy. , 2013, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[21]  Gang Xu,et al.  Tailoring of Luminous Transmittance upon Switching for Thermochromic VO2 Films by Thickness Control , 2004 .

[22]  S. Christoulakis,et al.  ZnO transparent thin films for gas sensor applications , 2006 .

[23]  Y. Shigesato,et al.  Thermochromic VO2 Films Deposited by RF Magnetron Sputtering Using V2O3 or V2O5 Targets , 2000 .

[24]  Elif Ertekin,et al.  Superelastic metal-insulator phase transition in single-crystal VO 2 nanobeams , 2009 .

[25]  Roman Engel-Herbert,et al.  Phase stabilization of VO2 thin films in high vacuum , 2015 .

[26]  Gang Xu,et al.  Design, formation and characterization of a novel multifunctional window with VO2 and TiO2 coatings , 2003 .

[27]  Yanfeng Gao,et al.  Pt/VO2 double-layered films combining thermochromic properties with low emissivity , 2010 .

[28]  C. Chang,et al.  Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of Sodium Oxalate by TiO2/Ti Thin Film Electrode , 2012 .

[29]  M. Durstock,et al.  Electrophoresis Coating of Titanium Dioxide on Aligned Carbon Nanotubes for Controlled Syntheses of Photoelectronic Nanomaterials , 2007 .

[30]  Gunnar A. Niklasson,et al.  Progress in chromogenics: New results for electrochromic and thermochromic materials and devices , 2009 .

[31]  V. Kladko,et al.  Low-temperature method for thermochromic high ordered VO2 phase formation , 2012 .