Quantifying fast structural relaxations in oxide V2O3 thin films

Vanadium sesquioxide (V2O3) attracts considerable interest due to its high technological potential in many devices for resistive switching, energy storage, catalysis, etc. To harness the full potential of these materials in functional devices, it is crucial to understand the dynamics of the structural relaxation process exhibited when grown in thin film form. Here, we present a comprehensive study on the fast-structural relaxation phenomenon observed in V2O3 thin films grown by the pulsed laser deposition technique using a Nd:YAG pulsed infrared laser source. To assess the quality of the interface, structural change, and chemical composition, a quantitative analysis of the transmission electron microscopy images was conducted. Strain analysis reveals that structural relaxation in V2O3 thin films occurs rapidly within the initial ∼4 nm from the film-substrate interface. This relaxation mechanism involves the formation of dislocations near the interface. These findings suggest that enhanced strain coupling at the film-substrate interface contributes to the observed relaxation behavior, underscoring the sensitivity of V2O3's strongly correlated metallic phase to crystalline defects and structural disorder. Understanding these interfacial relaxation dynamics is critical for the design and optimization of V2O3-based functional devices.