Microstructure scaling in metal-insulator-transitions of atomic layer deposited VO₂ films

Thin films of VO₂ are grown by atomic layer deposition onto low-cost amorphous substrates and compared to sputtered and pulsed laser deposited films on similar substrates. They were each analyzed in terms of the scaling with grain size of the resistivity change across the metal insulator transition, its thermal hysteresis and its full width at half maximum of the slopes. This finds a similar dependence and suggests that the cause is the sintering processes of these films during their deposition and annealing, which determine their microstructural properties.