Controlling the growth of VOx films for various optoelectronic applications

In this paper, vanadium oxide (VOx) thin films were prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering under different deposition temperatures. The physical properties and microstructures of VOx thin films were systematically investigated. Results reveal that when the deposition temperature is varied from 200 °C to 390 °C, the square resistance of VOx at room temperature is decreased significantly from 696 KΩ/sq to 0.122 KΩ/sq. The film stress and optical properties were also observed to be varied with the deposition temperature. The resulting adjustment of physical properties is attributed to the difference in both chemical states and crystallinity of VOx. On the base of the special optical, electrical and mechanical properties, the as-prepared VOx films exhibit great potential in various optoelectronic applications.