Structural and electrical properties of (Cr_1-x ,V _x )N thin films epitaxially grown on MgO(001) substrates

(Cr1-x,V-x)N thin films were grown on MgO(001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and their structural and electrical properties were characterized. The composition of the thin films was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis. X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed that the thin film grown epitaxially and the lattice constant decreasing as x increased. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the (Cr1-x,V-x)N thin films indicated that CrN and VN exhibited metallic behavior, whereas (Cr1-x,V-x)N exhibited semiconductor behavior. The semiconductor behavior of (Cr1-x,V-x)N might be associated with Anderson localization in addition to Mott-Hubbard interactions.