Impact of Thermal Expansion of Substrates on Phase Transition Temperature of VO2 Films
Résumé
Non-epitaxial, (010)M1-oriented VO2 thin films were grown on various substrates [amorphous SiO2, Si (001), Al2O3 (0001), and CaF2 (001)] with Pt (111)/SiO2 buffer layers. Phase transition from MoO2-type monoclinic to rutile-type tetragonal structures of these VO2 layers was investigated with temperature-controlled micro-Raman spectroscopy. It was confirmed that substrates with larger thermal expansion coefficient cause larger out-of-plane lattice spacings of both Pt and VO2, and thus lower transition temperatures of VO2 films, as a result of higher in-plane shrinkage during cooling from the deposition temperature. The transition temperatures and aM1/2 lengths, estimated from bM1 lengths, of present samples were compared with previous reports in a strain–temperature phase diagram. The present results fit with previous reports better by assuming that in-plane lattice aspect ratio of VO2 films is not clamped by the substrates but is flexible during the temperature change. Thermal expansion of substrates is an essential parameter to be taken into account when one considers device application of the phase transition properties of VO2 films, especially thick or non-epitaxial.