TY  - JOUR
T1  - The influence of substrate temperature on the structure and optical properties of NiO thin films deposited using the magnetron sputtering in the layer-by-layer growth regime
AU  - A.I. Ievtushenko
AU  - V.A. Karpyna
AU  - O.I. Bykov
AU  - M.V. Dranchuk
AU  - O.F. Kolomys
AU  - D.M. Maziar
AU  - V.V. Strelchuk
AU  - S.P. Starik
AU  - V.A. Baturin
AU  - О.Y. Karpenko
AU  - O.S. Lytvyn
JO  - Semiconductor Physics, Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics
VL  - 26
IS  - 4
SP  - 398
EP  - 407
PY  - 2023
DO  - 10.15407/spqeo26.04.398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.15407/spqeo26.04.398
AB  - Vanadium oxide (VO x ) thin films are promising materials, exhibiting electrical, optical, and mechanical properties highly tunable by processing and structure. This work uniquely applying atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation correlated with X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy structural analysis to investigate the intricate connections between VO x post-annealing, phase composition, and resulting nanoscale mechanical functionality. Utilizing an ultra-sharp diamond tip as a nanoscale indenter, indentation is performed on VO x films with systematic variations in structure – from mixed insulating oxides to VO 2 -dominated films. Analytical modeling enables extraction of hardness and elastic modulus with nanoscale resolution. Dramatic mechanical property variations are observed between compositions, with order-of-magnitude increases in hardness and elastic modulus for the VO 2 -rich films versus insulating oxides. Ion implantation further enhances nanomechanical performance through targeted defect engineering. Correlating indentation-derived trends with detailed structural and morphological characterization elucidates explicit structure-property relationships inaccessible by other techniques. The approach provides critical mechanics-driven insights into links between VO x synthesis, structure evolution, and property development. Broader implementation will accelerate processing optimization for electronics and advanced fundamental understanding of nanoscale structure-functionality relationships
KW  - polycrystalline vanadium oxide thin films
KW  - phase composition
KW  - atomic force microscopy
KW  - nanoindentation
KW  - X-ray diffraction
KW  - Raman spectroscopy
KW  - defect engineering
KW  - ion implantation
ER  -