| Abstract: |
Resistance of crystalline thin lms of vanadium dioxide with varying grain sizes were measured using a tungsten carbide tipped four-point probe and computer data collection. Resistivity was obtained through a conversion factor dependent on sample geometry. Temperature was measured concurrently, and was slowly varied within a range from 295 K to 360 K. As temperature is increased, a metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) was observed near 340 K. Hysteresis is observed upon cooling where the reverse transition occurs at a lower temperature. The upper (heating) transition temperature decreases as the grain size gets smaller and smaller grains were seen to have a wider hysteresis gap. |