Origin of the inhomogeneous nanoscale resistivity in chromium doped V2O3

Abstract Chromium doped V2O3 polycrystalline thin films typically consist of conductive grains separated by insulating grain boundaries. We investigate the origin of the spatially inhomogeneous resistivity in these films and find no qualitative differences between doped and undoped films, or for dif...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Johannes Mohr, Yudi Wang, Xiaoyu Xu, Ruilin Wang, Dirk J. Wouters, Rainer Waser, Joyeeta Nag, Daniel Bedau
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99892-y
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Summary:Abstract Chromium doped V2O3 polycrystalline thin films typically consist of conductive grains separated by insulating grain boundaries. We investigate the origin of the spatially inhomogeneous resistivity in these films and find no qualitative differences between doped and undoped films, or for different oxygen stoichiometries. By a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and nanoscale elemental mapping, we show that the inhomogeneity is due to the formation of amorphous or poorly crystallized regions at the grain boundaries. Both the distribution of the dopants and the local oxygen stoichiometry appear to be very homogeneous, and therefore do not contribute to the inhomogeneous conductivity.
ISSN:2045-2322