Fabrication of low phase transition temperature vanadium oxide films by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering and oxidation post-anneal method

•The films were grown by DC reactive magnetron sputtering from vanadium metallic target.•VO2 thin films have a low phase transition temperature (∼30 °C).•The substrate heating module in sputtering chamber was used to do subsequent annealing.•The developed method is an easier alternative to produce low phase transition temperature film.

Vanadium oxide thin films were deposited on ordinary glass substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering from a vanadium metal target and subsequent oxidation annealing. The deposition and annealing parameters were given in detail. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The phase transitions of films were observed by measuring their electrical and optical property variations at different temperature. The results indicated that the films fabricated had a semiconductor–metal phase transition temperature of about 30 °C.