Summary: | This work reports the effect of tin (Sn) doping on the infrared (IR) and terahertz (THz) properties of vanadium dioxide (VO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>) films. The films were grown by hydrothermal synthesis with a post-annealing process and then fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and temperature-controlled electrical resistivity as well as IR and THz spectroscopy techniques. Utilizing (NH<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>)<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>SnF<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>6</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> as a Sn precursor allows the preparation of homogeneous Sn-doped VO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> films. Doping of VO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> films with Sn led to an increase in the thermal hysteresis width while conserving the high modulation depth in the mid-IR regime, which would be beneficial for the applications of VO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> films in IR memory devices. A further analysis shows that Sn doping of VO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> films significantly affects the temperature-dependent THz optical properties, in particular leading to the suppression of the temperature-driven THz transmission modulation. These results indicate Sn-doped VO<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> films as a promising material for the development of switchable IR/THz dichroic components.
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