For progress in natural science: Materials international investigations of structural phase transformation and THz properties across metal–insulator transition in VO2/Al2O3 epitaxial films

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) epitaxial thin films on (0001)-oriented Al2O3 substrates were prepared using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering techniques. To study the metal-insulator-transition (MIT) mechanism and extend the applications of VO2 epitaxial films at terahertz (THz) band, temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction (XRD) and THz time domain spectroscopy of the VO2 epitaxial films were performed. Both the lattice constants and THz transmission exhibited a similar and sharp transition that was similar to that observed for the electrical resistance. Consequently, the MIT of the VO2/Al2O3 epitaxial films should be co-triggered by the structural phase transition and electronic transition. Moreover, the very large resistance change (on the order of ~103) and THz response (with a transmission modulation ratio of ~87%) in the VO2/Al2O3 epitaxial heterostructures are promising for electrical switch and electro-optical device applications.