Oxygen Vacancy in WO(3) Film-based FET with Ionic Liquid Gating

Ionic liquid gating is a versatile method for inducing a metal-insulator transition in field-effect transistor device structures. The mechanism of carrier doping in metal oxide films is under debate. Ionic liquid gating of a WO(3) film-based field effect transistor is discussed in this report. Flat and relatively smooth WO(3) films were deposited on SrTiO(3) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Swept and constant gate voltage characteristics are measured in both argon and oxygen atmospheres. The results show a clear dependence on the oxygen pressure of the experimental chamber. Metallic behavior in the films is attributed to oxygen vacancy formation in the WO(3) layer induced by the high electric field at the oxide-ionic liquid interface. The density of states of a monoclinic supercell of oxygen deficient WO(3) was studied by density functional theory (DFT). Calculated W and O partial densities of states verify metallic behavior even at dilute oxygen vacancy concentrations and show the role of W and O orbitals in the conductivity.