journal article·2021-04-14Open access

Enhanced Metal–Insulator Transition in Freestanding VO2 Down to 5 nm Thickness

Kun Han, Liang Wu, Yu Cao, Hanyu Wang, Chen Ye, Ke Huang, M. Motapothula, Hongna Xing, Xinghua Li, Dong-Chen Qi, Xiao Li, X. Renshaw Wang

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 13· Issue 14

Abstract

Ultrathin freestanding membranes with a pronounced metal–insulator transition (MIT) have huge potential for future flexible electronic applications as well as provide a unique aspect for the study of lattice–electron interplay. However, the reduction of the thickness to an ultrathin region (a few nm) is typically detrimental to the MIT in epitaxial films, and even catastrophic for their freestanding form. Here, we report an enhanced MIT in VO2-based freestanding membranes, with a lateral size up to millimeters and the VO2 thickness down to 5 nm. The VO2 membranes were detached by dissolving a Sr3Al2O6 sacrificial layer between the VO2 thin film and the c-Al2O3(0001) substrate, allowing the transfer onto arbitrary surfaces. Furthermore, the MIT in the VO2 membrane was greatly enhanced by inserting an intermediate Al2O3 buffer layer. In comparison with the best available ultrathin VO2 membranes, the enhancement of MIT is over 400% at a 5 nm VO2 thickness and more than 1 order of magnitude for VO2 above 10 nm. Our study widens the spectrum of functionality in ultrathin and large-scale membranes and enables the potential integration of MIT into flexible electronics and photonics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials · Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors · Ga2O3 and related materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore

Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China

School of Material Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan 650093, China

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3 117583, Singapore

Center for Quantum Transport and Thermal Energy Science (CQTES), School of Physics and Technology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, Uppsala SE-75120, Sweden

Department of Physics, SRM University AP, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh 522-502, India

School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China

Centre for Materials Science, School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

Funding

Agency for Science, Technology and Research · Ministry of Education - Singapore · Australian Research Council · National Research Foundation Singapore · Queensland University of Technology

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