Fabrication of high-quality VO2 thin films by ion-assisted dual ac magnetron sputtering.

The technique of cathodic ac dual magnetron sputtering along with the high energy ionic bombardment is known to yield high-quality thin films in terms of their uniformity and high density. This technique has been applied for the first time to achieve thermochromic VO2 thin films that show a high optical and electrical contrast between normal and switched states. In this two-step process Vanadium metal films were deposited and subsequently oxidized in optimum conditions to achieve stoichiometric VO2 films.