Effect of vacuum heat treatment on the metal-semiconductor phase transition in thin vanadium dioxide films

The effect of vacuum heat treatment of thin vanadium dioxide films on the parameters of the metal-semiconductor phase transition is studied. The results of heat treatment are compared with those obtained upon irradiation of the synthesized films by medium-energy electrons. The elemental composition of the films that is found by the Rutherford backscattering (RBS) method suggests that an observed change in the hysteresis loop of the films is associated with the reduction of the vanadium dioxide upon heating in a vacuum.