Abstract
The thermochromic properties of vanadium dioxide (VO2) offer great advantages for energy-saving smart windows, memory devices, and transistors. However, the crystallization of solution-based thin films at temperatures lower than 400°C remains a challenge. Photonic annealing has recently been exploited to crystallize metal oxides, with minimal thermal damage to the substrate and reduced manufacturing time. Here, VO2 thin films, obtained via a green sol–gel process, were crystallized by pulsed excimer laser annealing. The influence of increasing laser fluence and pulse number on the film properties was systematically studied through optical, structural, morphological, and chemical characterizations. From temperature profile simulations, the temperature rise was confirmed to be confined within the film during the laser pulses, with negligible substrate heating. Threshold laser parameters to induce VO2 crystallization without surface melting were found. With respect to furnace annealing, both the crystallization temperature and the annealing time were substantially reduced, with VO2 crystallization being achieved within only 60 s of laser exposure. The laser processing was performed at room temperature in air, without the need of a controlled atmosphere. The thermochromic properties of the lasered thin films were comparable with the reference furnace-treated samples.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 157507 |
| Journal | Applied Surface Science |
| Volume | 631 |
| Early online date | 13 May 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:MB acknowledges Gini Foundation and CARIPARO foundation for financial support. EN and AM acknowledge UNIPD for financial support (grant UNIPD-ISR 2017 ‘SENSITISE’). EC and AM acknowledge funding through the SID project (BIRD221997) under the BIRD 2022 program sponsored by the University of Padua. JJ acknowledges financially by the Australia Research Council funded Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science (Grant CE170100026). The authors acknowledge the use of the instruments at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM), a Node of Microscopy Australia. AM and JJ thanks University of Padova and Monash University for financial support through the joint initiatives in education and research program. AR acknowledges the support from the Analytical Chemistry Trust fund for her CAMS-UK fellowship. CK and AAR acknowledge the support from the Department of Chemistry, UCL. This work was carried out with support of Diamond Light Source, instrument I09 (proposal NT29451-4). The authors would like to thank Dave McCue, I09 beamline technician, for his support of the experiments.
Funding Information:
MB acknowledges Gini Foundation and CARIPARO foundation for financial support. EN and AM acknowledge UNIPD for financial support (grant UNIPD-ISR 2017 ‘SENSITISE’). EC and AM acknowledge funding through the SID project (BIRD221997) under the BIRD 2022 program sponsored by the University of Padua. JJ acknowledges financially by the Australia Research Council funded Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science (Grant CE170100026). The authors acknowledge the use of the instruments at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM), a Node of Microscopy Australia. AM and JJ thanks University of Padova and Monash University for financial support through the joint initiatives in education and research program. AR acknowledges the support from the Analytical Chemistry Trust fund for her CAMS-UK fellowship. CK and AAR acknowledge the support from the Department of Chemistry, UCL. This work was carried out with support of Diamond Light Source, instrument I09 (proposal NT29451-4). The authors would like to thank Dave McCue, I09 beamline technician, for his support of the experiments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier B.V.