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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Atomic Layer Deposition of Vanadium Dioxide and a Temperature-dependent Optical Model
Published on: May 23, 2018
Orientation-Engineered Insulator-Metal Transition in Vanadium Dioxide
Xuanchi Zhou1,2, Xiaohui Yao1, Wentian Lu1,2
1Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules and Magnetic Information Materials of Ministry of Education and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan, China.
Abstract:
The artificial design of material microstructure in correlated oxides offers an emerging pathway for unlocking exotic electronic states through adjusting coupled order parameters. Here, we showcase the robust capability of a crystallographic orientation strategy in rationally designing insulator-metal transition (IMT) functionality in the VO2 system, as driven by either critical temperature or protonation, giving rise to in-plane anisotropic transport behavior and kinetically accelerated phase transition. Rutile-on-rutile epitaxy in VO2/TiO2 heterostructure enables the facile control over the cR-axis orientation of VO2 films through engineering crystallographic orientations, which aligns the cR-axis out of plane and enhances the orbital hybridization to extensively reduce the TIMT. Introducing a previously unexplored high-Miller-index (102) orientation offers an additional handle to tailor IMT behaviors in VO2 via mirror-symmetry breaking, engendering in-plane anisotropic IMT behaviors. Benefiting from tunable migration kinetics, hydrogen-related electronic phase modulations in VO2/TiO2 (102) bilayer can be facilitated through inclined oxygen channels, a critical enabler for high-speed iontronics. Hydrogen-associated electronic orbital reconfigurations govern electronic localization of VO2 through protonation, as uncovered by theoretical calculations and synchrotron analysis. The present work identifies crystallographic orientation as a powerful tuning knob for adjusting IMT functionality in correlated systems, accessing exotic correlated electronic states.
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