Atomically-smooth single-crystalline VO2 (101) thin films with sharp metal-insulator transition

Mondal, Debasish and Mahapatra, Smruti Rekha and Ahmed, Tanweer and Podapangi, Suresh Kumar and Ghosh, Arindam and Aetukuri, Naga Phani B (2019) Atomically-smooth single-crystalline VO2 (101) thin films with sharp metal-insulator transition. In: JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 126 (21).

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Abstract

Atomically-abrupt interfaces in transition metal oxide (TMO) heterostructures could host a variety of exotic condensed matter phases that may not be found in the bulk materials at equilibrium. A critical step in the development of such atomically-sharp interfaces is the deposition of atomically-smooth TMO thin films. Optimized deposition conditions exist for the growth of perovskite oxides. However, the deposition of rutile oxides, such as VO2, with atomic-layer precision has been challenging. In this work, we used pulsed laser deposition to grow atomically-smooth VO2 thin films on rutile TiO2 (101) substrates. We show that an optimal substrate preparation procedure followed by the deposition of VO2 films at a temperature conducive for step-flow growth mode is essential for achieving atomically-smooth VO2 films. The films deposited at optimal substrate temperatures show a step and terrace structure of the underlying TiO2 substrate. At lower deposition temperatures, there is a transition to a mixed growth mode comprised of island growth and layer-by-layer growth modes. VO2 films deposited at optimal substrate temperatures undergo a sharp metal to insulator transition, similar to that observed in bulk VO2, but at a transition temperature of similar to 325K with similar to 10(3) times increase in resistance.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
Publisher:	AMER INST PHYSICS
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to AMER INST PHYSICS
Keywords:	ELECTRONIC-PROPERTIES; MOTT TRANSITION; INTERFACES; GROWTH
Department/Centre:	Division of Chemical Sciences > Solid State & Structural Chemistry Unit Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	16 Jan 2020 09:47
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2020 09:47
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/64340

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