Metal-Insulator Transitions in Stable V2O3 Thin Films: Atomic Layer Deposition and Postdeposition Annealing Studies

New, stable V2O3 thin films are prepared using VO(acac)(2) and ozone (O-3) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and a post-treatment process on a c-Al2O3 substrate. The obtained V2O3 thin films are crystalline, and have single-phase and rhombohedral structure. The present ALD process yields a thickness of 48 nm by 1000 ALD cycles at a temperature of 200 degrees C; it portrays uniformity on planar sapphire substrates. The V2O3 films (48 nm) exhibit a sharp metal-insulator transition (MIT) at a temperature of approximate to 165 K with five orders of magnitude change in electrical resistivity.

Automated summary

New and stable V2O3 thin films were prepared using VO(acac)(2) and ozone via atomic layer deposition (ALD) and post-treatment process on a c-Al2O3 substrate. The films exhibited crystalline, single-phase rhombohedral structure with a thickness of 48 nm achieved by 1000 ALD cycles at 200 degrees C, and showed a sharp metal-insulator transition at approximately 165 K with a five orders of magnitude change in electrical resistivity.