Structural and electrical characterization of V2O3 on various substrates: a comparative study

We investigate the structural morphology and electrical characteristics i.e., metal-insulator transition (MIT) of V
2
O
3
thin films grown by high power impulse magnetron sputtering on Al
2
O
3
(c, r, m and a-plane), Si/SiO
2
and Si/ SiO
2
/TiO
2
. The MIT characteristics of films were linked to strain induced by substrate, growth temperature, the O
2
flow settings, the lattice parameters of grown films and the stoichiometry. Of the studied substrates, films grown on c-plane Al
2
O
3
and SiO
2
showed a dominant abrupt transition with a strong MIT. Tunning the electrical transition characteristics of films grown on r-plane reveals MIT characteristics at high growth temperatures at remarkably low O
2
flow settings compared to films grown on c-plane substrates.