Large epitaxial bi-axial strain induces a Mott-like phase transition in VO{sub 2}
- Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States)
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904 (United States)
The metal insulator transition (MIT) in vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) has been an important topic for recent years. It has been generally agreed upon that the mechanism of the MIT in bulk VO{sub 2} is considered to be a collaborative Mott-Peierls transition, however, the effect of strain on the phase transition is much more complicated. In this study, the effect of the large strain on the properties of VO{sub 2} films was investigated. One remarkable result is that highly strained epitaxial VO{sub 2} thin films were rutile in the insulating state as well as in the metallic state. These highly strained VO{sub 2} films underwent an electronic phase transition without the concomitant Peierls transition. Our results also show that a very large tensile strain along the c-axis of rutile VO{sub 2} resulted in a phase transition temperature of ∼433 K, much higher than in any previous report. Our findings elicit that the metal insulator transition in VO{sub 2} can be driven by an electronic transition alone, rather the typical coupled electronic-structural transition.
- OSTI ID:
- 22310911
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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