  We report the impact of capping layers on vanadate based transparent
conductive oxides (TCOs) to prolong the thermal stability with a minimal loss
of resistivity during heat treatment in ambient environment. In the present
study, various protecting layers (amorphous Al2O3, LaAlO3 (LAO), TiO2 grown in
base pressure and TiO2 deposited under oxygen partial pressure) are grown
in-situ on polycrystalline perovskite SrVO3 (SVO) thin films using Pulsed Laser
Deposition (PLD). The results show that amorphous LaAlO3 is the most promising
protection layer among the oxide layers, to preserve both electrical and
optical properties of perovskite SVO films from natural as well as artificial
aging. Our present approach for a capping layer on SVO may address the
long-term stability issues of correlated TCOs and would open an opportunity for
the future oxide electronics applications.
