Electric field-assisted metal insulator transition in vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films: optical switching behavior and anomalous far-infrared emissivity variation

Aurelian Crunteanu (1) , Fabert Marc (2) , Julie Cornette (3) , Maggy Colas (3) , Jean-Christophe Orlianges (4) , Annie Bessaudou (1) , Françoise Cosset (1)

1 XLIM-MINACOM - MINACOM
2 PHOTONIQUE
3 SPCTS-AXE3 - Axe 3 : organisation structurale multiéchelle des matériaux
4 Axe 2 : procédés de traitements de surface

We present the vanadium dioxide (VO 2) thin films deposition using e-beam evaporation of a vanadium target under oxygen atmosphere on different substrates (sapphire, Si, SiO 2 /Si…) and we focus on their electrical and optical properties variations as the material undergoes a metal-insulator transition under thermal and electrical stimuli. The phase transition induces extremely abrupt changes in the electronic and optical properties of the material: the electrical resistivity increases up to 5 orders of magnitude while the optical properties (transmission, reflection, refractive index) are drastically modified. We present the integration of these films in simple planar optical devices and we demonstrate electrical-activated optical modulators for visible-infrared signals with high discrimination between the two states. We will highlight a peculiar behavior of the VO 2 material in the infrared and far infrared regions (2-20 m), namely its anomalous emissivity change under thermal-end electrical activation (negative differential emittance phenomenon) with potential applications in active coatings for thermal regulation, optical limiting or camouflage coatings.

Mots clés: vanadium dioxide; metal-insulator transition; electrical and optical properties; optical modulation; thermal emissivity variation

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Optique / photonique; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique; Physique [physics]; Matière Condensée [cond-mat]; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Electronique

Aurelian Crunteanu, Fabert Marc, Julie Cornette, Maggy Colas, Jean-Christophe Orlianges, et al.. Electric field-assisted metal insulator transition in vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films: optical switching behavior and anomalous far-infrared emissivity variation. Proceedings SPIE 9364, Oxide-based Materials and Devices VI , 2015, Proc. SPIE 9364, Oxide-based Materials and Devices VI, 9364, pp.93640J1-J11. ⟨10.1117/12.2076260⟩. ⟨hal-01155619⟩