Photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition in the surface layer of vanadium dioxide

The photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition occurring for a time Δt < 1 ps in the surface layer of vanadium dioxide is studied theoretically. A nonthermal mechanism of instability development is considered. An equation for the order parameter ξ of the photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition is derived. It is shown that the transition of the surface layer of VO₂ to the metallic state requires irradiation by a laser pulse whose energy density W exceeds a critical value W _c. The phase transition is initiated at the surface, after which the interface propagates deep into the sample. The critical energy density W _c, the velocity of propagation of the metal-semiconductor interface, the thickness z ₀, and the characteristic time Δt of formation of the metal layer are calculated. The theoretical results obtained are in agreement with the experimental data on irradiation of vanadium dioxide single crystals by high-intensity laser pulses.     

Photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition and switching wave in the vanadium dioxide film

A switching wave has been studied in the VO₂ film during the photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition. The dependences of the critical radiation intensities corresponding to the direct and reverse phase transitions on the ambient temperature have been obtained in the framework of the thermal model. The profile and velocity of the switching wave have been calculated. The calculated data are compared with the experimental data.     

Ultrafast semiconductor-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide induced by a femtosecond laser pulse

A model is proposed for a photoinduced Peierls-type semiconductor-metal phase transition that makes it possible to determine the time dependence of the bandgap width in the electronic spectrum of vanadium dioxide subjected to a light field and the dependence of the time at which a photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition occurs on the laser pulse duration. The theoretical results obtained are consistent with experimental data on the illumination of a VO₂ film with an intense laser pulse.     

Time of a semiconductor-metal phase transition induced by an ultrashort light pulse in vanadium dioxide

A relationship is obtained for a time τ of a photoinduced semiconductor-metal phase transition of the Peierls type under exposure to an ultrashort laser pulse. It is demonstrated that (i) the time τ increases as the pulse energy density W decreases, and (ii) the phase transition is initiated when the pulse energy density W exceeds a critical value W _c . The results obtained are compared with the experiment on irradiation of a vanadium dioxide film in a light field.     

Effect of chemisorption of donor and acceptor gases on the semiconductor-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide films

Heterophase textured films of vanadium dioxide on single-crystal silicon substrates have been synthesized by the sol-gel method from solutions of triethoxyvanadyl VO(OEt)₃ in methyl cellosolve CH₃OCH₂CH₂OH. The effect of ozone and ethanol vapor chemisorption on the parameters of the semiconductor-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide VO₂(B) has been studied. It has been found that the transition temperature increases in a reducing atmosphere and decreases in an oxidizing atmosphere.     

On the nature of metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide

The method of coercive temperature distribution function is used to prove that the metal-semiconductor temperature-induced phase transition in vanadium dioxide manifests itself as a Mott electronic transition.     

Single-particle plasmon resonance spectroscopy of phase transition in vanadium dioxide

We demonstrate thermally controlled plasmon resonance modulation of single gold nanoparticles on vanadium dioxide thin films by performing dark-field spectroscopy measurements at different temperatures. The plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles exhibits a significant blueshift in the visible range when the vanadium dioxide film undergoes its insulator-to-metal phase transition around 67 °C. More importantly, the resonance shift shows a clear hysteresis, mirroring the behavior of the vanadium dioxide film. At a fixed wavelength, the scattering intensity of Au particles also shows a hysteretic behavior decorated with an overshoot before (after) the insulator-metal (metal-insulator) phase transition of the vanadium dioxide film, suggesting that the nanoparticle is probing local variations in the phase transition.     

掺钨VO_2薄膜的电致相变特性

采用直流磁控溅射与后退火工艺相结合的方法,在掺氟SnO_2(FTO)导电玻璃基底上制备了高质量的掺钨VO_2薄膜,对薄膜的结构、表面形貌和光电特性进行测试,分析了钨掺杂对其相变性能的影响.结果表明,室温下掺钨VO_2薄膜的阈值电压为4.2 V,观察到阈值电压下约有两个数量级的电流突变.随着温度升高,相变的阈值电压降低,且电流突变幅度减小.当施加8 V电压时,分别在不同温度下测试了掺钨VO_2薄膜的透过率.温度为20和50℃时,掺钨VO_2薄膜相变前后的红外透过率差量分别为23%和27%.与未掺杂的VO_2薄膜相比,掺钨VO_2薄膜具有相变温度低、阈值电压低和电阻率小的特点,在高速光电器件中有广阔的应用前景.     

Effect of hydrogenation on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide thin films

Hydrogen penetration into thin films of vanadium dioxide from aqueous solutions of mono-, di-, and tribasic alcohols is studied. It is shown that this process is reversible, has a catalytic character, and brings about a lowering of the metal-semiconductor phase transition temperature. It is established that the phase transition in a hydrogenated H_xVO₂ film is completely suppressed for x> 0.04.     

Effect of deformation on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide thin films

It has been demonstrated that a small plastic deformation of aluminum substrates with vanadium dioxide thin films deposited on the substrate surfaces is accompanied by the appearance of elastic stresses in the films. Depending on the deformation technique, the elastic stresses can have different signs and the range of the metal-semiconductor phase transition in VO₂ shifts toward higher or lower temperatures as compared to the equilibrium phase temperature.     

电触发二氧化钒纳米线发生金属-绝缘体转变的机理

二氧化钒(VO_2)是一种强关联相变材料,在341 K下发生金属-绝缘体转变.尽管对于VO_2相变的物理机理进行了大量研究,但科学家仍未形成统一认识.与热致VO_2相变相比,电触发VO_2相变应用前景更为广阔,但其机理也更为复杂.本文利用原位通电杆和超快相机技术,在透射电镜下原位观察了单晶VO_2纳米线通电时的相转变过程,记录了相变过程中对应的电压-电流值,并在毫秒尺度下捕捉到了VO_2的过渡相态.发现VO_2电致相变并非由焦耳热引起,推断其机理是载流子注入.同时观察到电子结构相变和晶体结构相变存在解耦现象,进一步支持了上述推断.将VO_2纳米线两端施加非接触式电场,观察到VO_2纳米线在电场中的极化偏移,而未观察到相变发生,该现象同样支持相变的载流子注入机理.研究表明VO_2的金属-绝缘体转变遵循电子-电子关联机理,即根据电子关联的Mott转变进行.     

Hysteresis loop construction for the metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide films

Thermal hysteresis of the reflectivity of vanadium dioxide films observed upon the metal-semiconductor phase transition is studied. The major hysteresis loop is assumed to form when the phase equilibrium temperature in film grains and the grain size vary and correlate with each other. Within the suggested concept of hysteresis loop formation, it is demonstrated that the major loop may be asymmetric, i.e., broadened (shifted) toward lower temperatures. Unlike hysteresis branches for VO₂ bulk single crystal, those for VO₂ films are extended along the temperature axis and may exhibit a step if the grain size distribution has several maxima. The validity of the concept is verified experimentally. It is also shown that atomic force microscopy (AFM) data for the grain size distribution can serve to determine the distribution parameters from the phase equilibrium temperatures without constructing a complete set of minor hysteresis loops, as was required before.     

Specific features of electrical conductivity of the insulating phase of vanadium dioxide doped with niobium

The electrical conductivity of V_{1 – x}Nb_xO₂ single crystals have been investigated over a wide temperature range covering regions of the existence of the metallic and insulating phases. It has been shown that, with an increase in the niobium concentration, the electrical conductivity of the metallic phase becomes below the Mott limit for the minimum metallic conductivity. Immediately after the metal–insulator transition, the electrical conductivity is determined by a large amount of free electrons that gradually localized with a decrease in the temperature. The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity in the insulating phase of V_{1 – x}Nb_xO₂ has been explained in the framework of the hopping conductivity model that takes into account the effect of thermal vibrations of atoms on the resonance integral.     

Effect of synthesis conditions on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide thin films

The effect of the conditions of synthesis and of the substrate material on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in thin vanadium dioxide films prepared using laser ablation has been studied. The broadening of the hysteresis loop is shown to be due to a decrease in the size of the crystal grains making up the film. Conjectures are put forward to explain the formation of asymmetric hysteresis loops.     

Role of adhesion in the metal-semiconductor phase transition in polycrystalline vanadium dioxide films

Etching of thin polycrystalline films of vanadium dioxide with hydrofluoric acid vapor has offered a possibility to reveal a significant influence of the extent of adhesion on the temperature position and shape of the hysteresis loop of the reflectivity. It has been established that, in the cases where silicon is used as a substrate, etching at room temperature is accompanied by incorporation of hydrogen into thin films of vanadium dioxide.     

Effect of vacuum heat treatment on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in thin vanadium dioxide films

The effect of vacuum heat treatment of thin vanadium dioxide films on the parameters of the metal-semiconductor phase transition is studied. The results of heat treatment are compared with those obtained upon irradiation of the synthesized films by medium-energy electrons. The elemental composition of the films that is found by the Rutherford backscattering (RBS) method suggests that an observed change in the hysteresis loop of the films is associated with the reduction of the vanadium dioxide upon heating in a vacuum.     

Effect of grain sizes on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide polycrystalline thin films

Experimental data on the effect of grain sizes on the shape and width of the hysteresis loop characterizing a metal-semiconductor phase transition in vanadium dioxide films are analyzed in terms of the classical theory of nucleation. It is shown that the factors responsible for the changes in the shape and width of the hysteresis loop with variations in the size of the grains making up a film are associated with the heterogeneous character of nucleation of a new phase, on the one hand, and with the elastic stresses arising in the phase transition, on the other.     

Enhanced photosusceptibility near Tc for the light-induced insulator-to-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide

We use optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy to investigate the near-threshold behavior of the photoinduced insulator-to-metal (IM) transition in vanadium dioxide thin films. Upon approaching Tc a reduction in the fluence required to drive the IM transition is observed, consistent with a softening of the insulating state due to an increasing metallic volume fraction (below the percolation limit). This phase coexistence facilitates the growth of a homogeneous metallic conducting phase following superheating via photoexcitation. A simple dynamic model using Bruggeman effective medium theory describes the observed initial condition sensitivity.     

Study of the interaction of argon and nitrogen ions with the silicon dioxide surface

Angular dependences of the sputtering yield, surface layer composition, and changes in the mass spectra of residual atmosphere upon irradiation of silicon dioxide with argon and nitrogen ions are measured. It is found that the sputtering yield of SiO₂ bombarded by N ₂ ⁺ ions is almost two times higher than for Si. The sputtering yields of SiO₂ and Si irradiated with Ar ions are identical, although the binding energy of atoms in SiO₂ is almost two times higher than in Si. An analysis of the surface composition and residual atmosphere near the sample during its irradiation suggests that a chemical reaction is involved in SiO₂ sputtering. Molecules of SiO and NO gases form in the surface layer, whose subsequent desorption increases the SiO₂ sputtering rate.