Vanadium dioxide nanowire-based microthermometer for quantitative evaluation of electron beam heating

Abstract

Temperature measurement is critical for many technological applications and scientific experiments, and different types of thermometers have been developed to detect temperature at macroscopic length scales. However, quantitative measurement of the temperature of nanostructures remains a challenge. Here, we show a new type of microthermometer based on a vanadium dioxide nanowire. Its mechanism is derived from the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide at 68°C. As our results demonstrate, this microthermometer can serve as a thermal flow meter to investigate sample heating from the incident electron beam using a transmission electron microscope. Owing to its small size the vanadium dioxide nanowire-based microthermometer has a large measurement range and high sensitivity, making it a good candidate to explore the temperature environment of small spaces or to monitor the temperature of tiny, nanoscale objects.

Recent progresses on physics and applications of vanadium dioxide

“…The sensitivity of the MIT with strain, as shown in Fig.4.1, has been exploited to make stress sensors, as external stress could drive the MIT and drastically alter the conductance of the system [78,219]. The MIT feature of VO 2 nanowires at a sharp temperature point has enabled applications as microthermometers for quantitative evaluation of electron beam heating, light absorption and heat transfer of other micro-objects [220,221]. The negative differential thermal emittance of VO 2 also finds potential applications in infrared camouflage.…”

Hydrothermal Synthesis of VO2 Polymorphs: Advantages, Challenges and Prospects for the Application of Energy Efficient Smart Windows

“…Moreover, scaling VO 2 particles to nanoscale offers the possibility to further enhance its thermochromic performance at a moderate τ c . Several chemical and physical techniques have been reported to construct nanostructures of thermochromic VO 2 , including hydrothermal, magnetron sputtering, CVD, PVD, sol–gel, confined‐space combustion method, electrochemical and solution methods . Among them, vapor deposition is an efficient method for high quality VO 2 ‐film fabrication, but the equipment required for the film deposition is usually complex and expensive; a solution‐based deposition process is more cost effective, high‐yielding, and flexible, but it always suffers from multiple‐steps, lower purity, and small‐scale production .…”

Electrochemical gating-induced reversible and drastic resistance switching in VO2 nanowires

“…Of the prototypical materials, VO 2 is promising as it undergoes a metal-insulator transition (MIT) and the resistance changes by orders of magnitude around 340 K. In VO 2 nano to microstructures5678910111213, the coupling of the MIT with mechanical789, optical13, thermal12 and electronic properties911 can be used in tunable resonators, optical switchers, electronic and thermo-sensing devices. Furthermore, only a few atomic percent of the hydrogen- or oxygen-intercalation and -desorption in VO 2 cause drastic changes in the transport properties, equal to that caused by inducing the MIT14151617181920.…”