Crystallization and electrical properties of V2O5 thin films prepared by RF sputtering

V2O5 thin films were prepared under various conditions by using reactive RF sputtering technique. The microstructure and electrical properties of the films are have been investigated. X-ray diffraction data revealed the films deposited at low O2/Ar ratio are amorphous. The orthorhombic structure of film improved after post annealing at 873 K. The microstructure parameters (crystallite/domain size and macrostrain) have been evaluated by using a single order Voigt profile method. Using the two-point probe technique, the dark conductivity as a function of the condition parameters such as film thickness, oxygen content and temperature are discussed. It was also found that, the behaviour of ρd versus d was found to fit properly with the Fuchs-Sondheimer relation with the parameters: ρo = 2.14 × 107 Ω cm and ℓo = 112 ± 2 nm. At high temperature, the electrical conductivity is dominated by grain boundaries, the values of activation energy and potential barrier height were 0.90 ± 0.02 eV and 0.92 ± 0.02 V, respectively.