Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis and Optical Properties of NbO Thin Films with Hybrid Functional Theoretical Insight into the Band Structure and Band Gaps.

NbO is an important material able to exist in many polymorphs with unique optical properties and morphologies that are dependent on the synthetic route. Here we report a novel ambient-pressure chemical vapor deposition route to NbO via aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The amorphous as-deposited films were annealed in air to obtain the the three most stable crystal structures: orthorhombic, tetragonal, and monoclinic. The films were thoroughly characterized for their material properties, and an in-depth study into the optical properties was carried out using state-of-the-art hybrid functional theory that allowed more insight into the optical properties of the materials.