Fractal Nature of Metallic and Insulating Domain Configurations in a VO2 Thin Film Revealed by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

We investigated the surface work function ( W S ) and its spatial distribution for epitaxial VO 2 /TiO 2 thin films using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Nearly grain-boundary-free samples allowed observation of metallic and insulating domains with distinct W S values, throughout the metal–ins...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScientific reports Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 10417
Main Authors Sohn, Ahrum, Kanki, Teruo, Sakai, Kotaro, Tanaka, Hidekazu, Kim, Dong-Wook
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 18.05.2015
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
639/766/119/544
639/925/357/995
Humanities and Social Sciences
Microscopy
multidisciplinary
Science
Spatial distribution
Thin films
Titanium dioxide
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Summary:We investigated the surface work function ( W S ) and its spatial distribution for epitaxial VO 2 /TiO 2 thin films using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Nearly grain-boundary-free samples allowed observation of metallic and insulating domains with distinct W S values, throughout the metal–insulator transition. The metallic fraction, estimated from W S maps, describes the evolution of the resistance based on a two-dimensional percolation model. The KPFM measurements also revealed the fractal nature of the domain configuration.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep10417