A Monoclinic V(1-x-y)Ti(x)Ru(y)O(2) Thin Film with Enhanced Thermal-Sensitive Performance

Preparing the thermal-sensitive thin films with high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and low resistivity by a highly compatible process is favorable for increasing the sensitivity of microbolometers with small pixels. Here, we report an effective and process-compatible approach for preparing V(1-x-y)Ti(x)Ru(y)O(2) thermal-sensitive thin films with monoclinic structure, high TCR, and low resistivity through a reactive sputtering process followed by annealing in oxygen atmosphere at 400 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates that Ti(4+) and Ru(4+) ions are combined into VO(2). X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy reveal that V(1-x-y)Ti(x)Ru(y)O(2) thin films have a monoclinic lattice structure as undoped VO(2). But V(1-x-y)Ti(x)Ru(y)O(2) thin films exhibit no-SMT feature from room temperature (RT) to 106 °C due to the pinning effect of high-concentration Ti in monoclinic lattice. Moreover, RT resistivity of the V(0.8163)Ti(0.165)Ru(0.0187)O(2) thin film is only one-eighth of undoped VO(2) thin film, and its TCR is as high as 3.47%/°C.