Fabrication of Epitaxial W-Doped VO<sub>2</sub> Nanostructured Films for Terahertz Modulation Using the Solvothermal Process
Аlexey V. Ivanov, Artem Yu. Tatarenko, Andrei Gorodetsky, Olga N. Makarevich, Miguel Navarro‐Cía, A. M. Makarevich, A. R. Kaul, А. А. Елисеев, Olga V. Boytsova
Abstract
We report a feasible and high-throughput method for high-quality W-doped VO2 nanostructured epitaxial films on r-sapphire substrate fabrication. Single-phase, smooth vanadium dioxide thin films with uniform distribution of tungsten (up to 2.3%) are formed using the solvothermal process from ethylene glycol/water V4+ and W6+ solutions. Compositional analysis by X-ray photoelectron and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (XPS and EDX, respectively); structural analysis (X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction (SAED)); and detailed analysis of the surface morphology and substrate–film interface using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (SEM, AFM, HRTEM, respectively) confirm the formation of nanoscale (50–60 nm) epitaxial W:VO2 (M1) on r-sapphire with epitaxial relationships (100)VO2∥(101̅2)Al2O3 and [010]VO2∥[011̅0]Al2O3. The nanostructured films demonstrate excellent terahertz (THz) transmission properties: a phase transition temperature of 31 °C, a huge THz modulation depth of over 60%, and broad bandwidth (≥2 THz) operation. Hence, they can be efficiently used as active material for tunable THz manipulation devices.