Metal–insulator transition of VO2 thin films grown on TiO2 (001) and (110) substrates

The effect of uniaxial stress along the c axis on the metal–insulator transition of VO2 has been studied in the form of epitaxial thin films grown on TiO2 (001) and (110) substrates. A large reduction in the transition temperature TMI from 341 K for a single crystal to 300 K has been observed in the film on TiO2 (001) where the c-axis length is compressed owing to an epitaxial stress, while the TMI has been increased to 369 K in the film on TiO2 (110) where the c-axis length is expanded. The correlation between the c-axis length and TMI is suggested: the shorter c-axis length results in the lower TMI.