Fabrication and Characterization of Vanadium/Vanadium Pentoxide/Vanadium (V/V₂O₅/V) Tunnel Junction Diodes

A metal/insulator/metal (MIM) diode is a structure in which a thin oxide layer is sandwiched between two metal layers. Metal/insulator/metal (MIM) diodes coupled to antennas have been widely investigated as detectors for millimeter wave and infrared radiation for imaging and spectroscopic applications. In this work, we report on the fabrication and characterization of MIM tunnel junction diodes by using a new material combination, vanadium-vanadium pentoxide-vanadium (V/V₂O₅/V), with contact areas of 2× 2 μm². The V/V₂O₅/V MIM was fabricated using electron-beam lithography, sputter deposition and conventional liftoff methods. The fabricated V/V₂O₅/V MIM diodes showed a maximum absolute sensitivity of 2.35 $V^{-1}$. In addition, noise spectra for the fabricated MIM diodes were measured and analyzed.