Effect of oxygen stoichiometry on the insulator-metal phase transition in vanadium oxide thin films studied using optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy

Using optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy, we studied the dynamic behaviors of photoinduced insulator-metal phase transition in vanadium oxide thin films with different oxygen stoichiometry. We found that the insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide is very sensitive to oxygen stoichiometry: the increased oxygen content in vanadium oxide will reduce the magnitude of phase transition and change the dynamics of the phase transition. The transient complex photoconductivity of vanadium oxide thin films is investigated and analyzed with Drude-Smith model, supplying insight of the dynamic process of phase transition in vanadium oxide thin films. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.