Analyzing the Bolometric Performance of Vanadium Oxide Thin Films Modified by Carbon Nanotube Dispersions

The influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) dispersions on the electrical properties and noise signal amplitude of [Formula: see text] films is investigated. For a critical range of the CNT dispersion density on [Formula: see text] films, the intrinsic properties of the [Formula: see text] films are modified by the CNTs. The CNT concentrations reported in this work are about 0.3 [Formula: see text] g/cm [Formula: see text] and 1.6 [Formula: see text] g/cm [Formula: see text] , allowing for low density and high density dispersions on the [Formula: see text] film surface to be investigated. These values are higher than the percolation threshold of about 0.12 [Formula: see text] g/cm [Formula: see text] for these films. The composite film exhibits a significant reduction in the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) (from ≈3.8% [Formula: see text] to ≈0.3% [Formula: see text]) for high density dispersions. In contrast, while [Formula: see text] –CNT composites with low density single wall CNT dispersions exhibit no significant change in TCR values, an approximate two orders of magnitude reduction in the low frequency 1/f noise is measured. The noise signal amplitude measured at 0.1 V and at 1.0 Hz reduces from 6 × [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] films to 5 × [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] for the low density SWCNT dispersion on [Formula: see text] film and to 3 × [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] for the low density MWCNT dispersion on [Formula: see text] film. The CNT concentration is the critical factor for yielding the observed changes in conductivity and low frequency noise. The results presented in this work provide a better understanding of [Formula: see text]-based composites, thereby enabling the development of new, versatile and functional materials for device applications.