Physical investigations on electron beam evaporated V2O5–MoO3 thin films

Thin films of the system (V2O5)1−x–(MoO3)x with 0⩽x⩽l were prepared by electron-beam evaporation technique in an oxygen partial pressure of 2×10−4 mbar onto silicon substrate maintained at temperature of 423 K. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared data of these samples suggest that the film composition nearly approaches the nominal stoichiometry. The optical absorption studied in the wavelength range 300–1500 nm shows that the optical band gap increases with the increase of the MoO3 content in V2O5–MoO3 films. The electrical measurements exhibit a decrease of the conductivity with increasing MoO3 concentration. Results suggest the formation of the (V2O5)1−x–(MoO3)x solid solution.