https://www.surfacesciencewestern.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ass11_biesinger.pdf

Resolving surface chemical states in XPS analysis of first row transition metals, oxides and hydroxides: Sc, Ti, V, Cu and Zn

Electrons in correlated insulators are prevented from conducting by Coulomb repulsion between them. When an insulator-to-metal transition is induced in a correlated insulator by doping or heating, the resulting conducting state can be radically different from that characterized by free electrons in conventional metals. We report on the electronic properties of a prototypical correlated insulator vanadium dioxide in which the metallic state can be induced by increasing temperature. Scanning near-field infrared microscopy allows us to directly image nanoscale metallic puddles that appear at the onset of the insulator-to-metal transition. In combination with far-field infrared spectroscopy, the data reveal the Mott transition with divergent quasi-particle mass in the metallic puddles. The experimental approach used sets the stage for investigations of charge dynamics on the nanoscale in other inhomogeneous correlated electron systems.

Mott Transition in VO2 Revealed by Infrared Spectroscopy and Nano-Imaging

An innovative technique uses ultrafast below-bandgap electric-field pulses to induce and probe an insulator–metal transition in an oxide thin film on which a metamaterial structure has been deposited. The transition from insulating to metallic behaviour and the microscopic interactions that accompany the transition are important phenomena in electronic materials. Until now it has not been possible to observe the transition directly in a time-resolved manner. Here, Richard Averitt and colleagues use ultrafast terahertz pulses to induce a phase transition in a prototypical insulator–metal transition material (vanadium dioxide) on which a metamaterial structure has been deposited. The metamaterial serves to amplify the local terahertz field, as well as to detect macroscopic changes in vanadium dioxide. Through direct, time-resolved observations, the authors establish a detailed microscopic picture of the structural and electronic changes underlying the insulator–metal transition. They conclude that their technique is versatile and could even be used to study phase transitions in superconductors. Electron–electron interactions can render an otherwise conducting material insulating1, with the insulator–metal phase transition in correlated-electron materials being the canonical macroscopic manifestation of the competition between charge-carrier itinerancy and localization. The transition can arise from underlying microscopic interactions among the charge, lattice, orbital and spin degrees of freedom, the complexity of which leads to multiple phase-transition pathways. For example, in many transition metal oxides, the insulator–metal transition has been achieved with external stimuli, including temperature, light, electric field, mechanical strain or magnetic field2,3,4,5,6,7. Vanadium dioxide is particularly intriguing because both the lattice and on-site Coulomb repulsion contribute to the insulator-to-metal transition at 340 K (ref. 8). Thus, although the precise microscopic origin of the phase transition remains elusive, vanadium dioxide serves as a testbed for correlated-electron phase-transition dynamics. Here we report the observation of an insulator–metal transition in vanadium dioxide induced by a terahertz electric field. This is achieved using metamaterial-enhanced picosecond, high-field terahertz pulses to reduce the Coulomb-induced potential barrier for carrier transport9. A nonlinear metamaterial response is observed through the phase transition, demonstrating that high-field terahertz pulses provide alternative pathways to induce collective electronic and structural rearrangements. The metamaterial resonators play a dual role, providing sub-wavelength field enhancement that locally drives the nonlinear response, and global sensitivity to the local changes, thereby enabling macroscopic observation of the dynamics10,11. This methodology provides a powerful platform to investigate low-energy dynamics in condensed matter and, further, demonstrates that integration of metamaterials with complex matter is a viable pathway to realize functional nonlinear electromagnetic composites.

Terahertz-field-induced insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide metamaterial

Although phase transitions have long been a centerpiece of condensed matter materials science studies, a number of recent efforts focus on potentially exploiting the resulting functional property changes in novel electronics and photonics as well as understanding emergent phenomena. This is quite timely, given a grand challenge in twenty-first-century physical sciences is related to enabling continued advances in information processing and storage beyond conventional CMOS scaling. In this brief review, we discuss synthesis of strongly correlated oxides, mechanisms of metal-insulator transitions, and exploratory electron devices that are being studied. Particular emphasis is placed on vanadium dioxide, which undergoes a sharp metal-insulator transition near room temperature at ultrafast timescales. The article begins with an introduction to metal-insulator transition in oxides, followed by a brief discussion on the mechanisms leading to the phase transition. The role of materials synthesis in influencing functional properties is discussed briefly. Recent efforts on realizing novel devices such as field effect switches, optical detectors, nonlinear circuit components, and solid-state sensors are reviewed. The article concludes with a brief discussion on future research directions that may be worth consideration.

Oxide Electronics Utilizing Ultrafast Metal-Insulator Transitions

The resonant elements that grant metamaterials their unique properties have the fundamental limitation of restricting their useable frequency bandwidth The development of frequency-agile metamaterials has helped to alleviate these bandwidth restrictions by allowing real-time tuning of the metamaterial frequency response We demonstrate electrically-controlled persistent frequency tuning of a metamaterial, allowing lasting modification of its response using a transient stimulus This work demonstrates a form of memory capacitance which interfaces metamaterials with a class of devices known collectively as memory devices

Memory Metamaterials

An abrupt Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) rather than the continuous Hubbard MIT near a critical on-site Coulomb energy U/U_c=1 is observed for the first time in VO_2, a strongly correlated material, by inducing holes of about 0.018% into the conduction band. As a result, a discontinuous jump of the density of states on the Fermi surface is observed and inhomogeneity inevitably occurs. The gate effect in fabricated transistors is clear evidence that the abrupt MIT is induced by the excitation of holes.

http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0308042.pdf

Observation of Mott Transition in VO_2 Based Transistors

An abrupt first-order metal-insulator transition (MIT) without structural phase transition is first observed by current-voltage measurements and micro-Raman scattering experiments, when a DC electric field is applied to a Mott insulator VO_2 based two-terminal device. An abrupt current jump is measured at a critical electric field. The Raman-shift frequency and the bandwidth of the most predominant Raman-active A_g mode, excited by the electric field, do not change through the abrupt MIT, while, they, excited by temperature, pronouncedly soften and damp (structural MIT), respectively. This structural MIT is found to occur secondarily.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0402485.pdf

Observation of First-Order Metal-Insulator Transition without Structural Phase Transition in VO_2

W- and Ti-doped thin films were deposited onto sapphire by the sol-gel method. Both films were grown with (020)-preferred direction. Doping of W had a great effect on the transition behaviors. A 1.2 atom % W-doped film showed a largely reduced resistance in the insulator state and decreased the transition temperature to . However, Ti-doped film had a little change of the transition temperature, and it was , even for the 20 atom % Ti doping. The resistance in the metal state was very large, which means a markedly small change of the resistance at the transition temperature. Further study is required for understanding the effects of doping film with metal ions.

Characteristics of W- and Ti-Doped VO2 Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

Phase coexistence in the metal–insulator transition of a VO2 thin film

In order to fabricate an electronic device, we have optimized growth conditions of VO2 films on amorphous SiO2/Si structure substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The phase of VO2 films observed consisted of multiphases such as VO2, V2O5, and V2O3. The correlation between phase changes and growth conditions of VO2 films was analyzed. Also, the electrical characteristics of VO2-based three terminal devices, attributed to structural and phase changes, are discussed. VO2 films under optimal growth conditions have a change in resistivity of the order of 102 near a critical temperature, Tc=340 K. Furthermore, an abrupt jump in current was observed when an electric field was applied to the three terminal device in the VO2-based SiO2/Si structure. The source–drain voltage, in which the abrupt current jump occurred, changed with application of a gate electric field.

B. G. Chae

Papers

Observation of Mott Transition in VO_2 Based Transistors

Observation of First-Order Metal-Insulator Transition without Structural Phase Transition in VO_2

Characteristics of W- and Ti-Doped VO2 Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

Phase coexistence in the metal–insulator transition of a VO2 thin film

Growth optimization and electrical characteristics of VO2 films on amorphous SiO2/Si substrates