Tuning of Structural and Morphological Characteristics of V2O5 Thin Films Using Low Energy 16 keV N + for Optical and Wetting Applications

Abstract

Effect of nitrogen (N+) ion implantation on the morphological, structural, optical, and compositional properties of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) thin films grown on glass substrates is studied. Surface morphology shows the formation of grains and the growth dynamics is governed by roughness (α) and growth (β) exponents. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that V2O5 exists in a hybrid form, with properties of both the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases. Ion implantation induces defects and strain in V2O5 thin films causing a reduction in crystalline properties and deformation in the β-phase with a corresponding change in crystallite size. Contact angle wetting properties are found to be co-related with fractal growth of the films under ion implantation. Oxygen vacancies and electron scattering/trapping centres are revealed to have increased after N+ implantation, leading to a smaller bandgap in the thin films. The benefits of decreasing the optical band-gap of V2O5 thin films for optical applications are outlined in the present work.