Study of nanocrystalline VO2 thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering and post-oxidation

Nanocrystalline VO2 thin films were deposited onto glass slides by direct current magnetron sputtering and post-oxidation. These films undergo semiconductor-metal transition at 70 degrees C, accompanied by a resistance drop of two magnitude orders. The crystal structures and surface morphologies of the VO2 films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM), respectively. Results reveal that the average grain size of VO2 nanograins measured by XRD is smaller than those measured by AFM. In addition, Raman characterization indicates that stoichiometric VO2 and oxygen-rich VO2 phases coexist in the films,which is supported by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results. Finally, the optical properties of the VO2 films in UV-visible range were also evaluated. The optical band gap corresponding to 2p-3d inter-band transition was deduced according to the transmission and reflection spectra. And the deduced value, Eopt2p-3d = 1.81 eV, is in good agreement with that previously obtained by theoretical calculation.