Ellipsometric study of the electronic behaviors of titanium-vanadium dioxide (TixV1−xO2) films for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 during semiconductive-to-metallic phase transition

Titanium-vanadium dioxide or TixV1−xO2 films for 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 were examined using ellipsometry, and their optical constants (n and k) at visible and near-infrared wavelengths were determined at temperatures (T) below, at, and above the semiconductive-to-metallic phase transition (SMT) temperature (TSM). Ellipsometric analysis was performed for each x at each T using a wavelength dispersion model, i.e., a combination of Lorentz oscillators and a Drude free electron model. The ellipsometric analyses provided information on the electronic band transition caused by the SMT and the influence of cationic replacement (Ti↔V) on the SMT. The results revealed that when x ≤ 0.05, close to the SMT, the energy gap of the interband transition O2p→V3d varied from ≈3.5 eV to ≈3.1 eV, and the quantity of electrons in the interband transition decreased by half. In addition, the energy gap monotonically increased to 4.2 eV when x was increased to 1. Moreover, the energy gap of the split V3d intraband transition varied from ≈1.4 eV to zero, and the quantity of electrons in the intraband transition increased by a factor of four. Furthermore, when x ≥ 0.2, close to the SMT, the energy gap of the intraband transition varied from ≈1.4 eV to a constant positive value, with the generation of a small number of conductive electrons, depending on x.