Design of a laser writing instrument for selective local patterning of vanadium oxide phases

Abstract Vanadium oxides (VO x ) are strongly correlated materials that exhibit a variety of collective properties including metal–insulator transitions. The synthesis of single-phase vanadium oxide is commonly achieved by controlling thermodynamic conditions. However, synthesizing VO x that combines multiple chemical phases is often challenging since the synthesis conditions for one phase are often destructive to the others. Here, we design a laser writing instrument that allows for the selective local patterning of high-quality vanadium oxide phases. We combine a laser writing setup with an ultra-high vacuum chamber to implement selective oxide fabrication. We utilize finite element analysis tools to optimize the instrument design and process parameters. Finally, we successfully achieve the controlled synthesis of VO 2 , V 3 O 5 and V 4 O 7 embedded in a 100 nm-thick V 2 O 3 thin film matrix. The surface morphology and resistivity of four different vanadium oxide phases were determined experimentally. Our approach offers an alternative pathway for strategically modifying local electronic properties of oxide materials, opening a wide range of potential applications.