Epitaxial VO₂thin-film-based radio-frequency switches with electrical activation

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a correlated material exhibiting a sharp insulator-to-metal phase transition (IMT) caused by temperature change and/or bias voltage. We report on the demonstration of electrically triggered radio-frequency (RF) switches based on epitaxial VO2 thin films. The highly epitaxial VO2 and SnO2 template layer was grown on a (001) TiO2 substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). A resistance change of the VO2 thin films of four orders of magnitude was achieved with a relatively low threshold voltage, as low as 13 V, for an IMT phase transition. VO2 RF switches also showed high-frequency responses of insertion losses of −3 dB at the on-state and return losses of −4.3 dB at the off-state over 27 GHz. Furthermore, an intrinsic cutoff frequency of 17.4 THz was estimated for the RF switches. The study on electrical IMT dynamics revealed a phase transition time of 840 ns.

Reconfigurable Vanadium Dioxide Nanomembranes and Microtubes with Controllable Phase Transition Temperatures

“…The phase transition of VO 2 will generate 1–2% compressive strain during the transition from the insulating phase to the metallic phase, which can be applied in actuators driven by heat . Such heating effect can be demonstrated by direct baking (in an oven or on a hot plate) or Joule heating by electrical current. , We proved that both cases can be applied to our bimorph device, and direct heating was adopted for demonstration. Figure a, representing individual captures of Supplementary Movie 1, shows the actuating behavior of the VO 2 /Cr bimorph device with temperature change.…”

“…The phase transition of the fabricated bimorph system was examined by measuring the electrical properties. The change in the electronic structure across the phase transition is accompanied by a several orders of magnitude change in the electrical resistivity of VO 2 , which exhibits a conductance switching phenomenon. , This transition can be triggered by global heating or by Joule heating induced by a current flow. In our experiment, a dielectric thin Al 2 O 3 (100 nm) layer was coated on four devices of types I, II, III (shown in Figure ), and IV (planar bimorph as a reference) using atomic layer deposition (ALD, Figure S5) to fix the strain of the bimorph.…”

Vanadium Dioxide: The Multistimuli Responsive Material and Its Applications

“…f) SEM image of the cross section of the waveguide. e,f) Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2017, AIP Publishing LLC.…”

“…Compared with the conventional RF switching devices, VO 2 RF switching exhibits short response time and high reliability . Treadway et al fabricated the VO 2 ‐based RF switching device on single crystal Al 2 O 3 (0001) substrate and Ti/Au electrodes are patterned on the top and sides of VO 2 as signal and ground contacts respectively .…”

Hydrothermal synthesis of vanadium dioxide nanoparticles and its applications

“…Compared with the conventional RF switching devices, VO2 RF switching exhibits a short response time and high reliability. [120] Treadway et al fabricated the VO2-based RF switching device on single-crystal Al2O3 (0001) substrate and Ti/Au electrodes are patterned on the top and sides of VO2 as signal and ground contacts respectively. [121]…”