Early-stage dynamics of metallic droplets embedded in the nanotextured Mott insulating phase of 
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Ronchi, Andrea; Homm, Pía; Menghini, Mariela; Franceschini, Paolo; Maccherozzi, Francesco; Banfi, Francesco; Ferrini, Gabriele; Cilento, Federico; Parmigiani, Fulvio; Dhesi, S. S.; Fabrizio, Michele; Locquet, Jean‐Pierre; Giannetti, Claudio

doi:10.1103/physrevb.100.075111

Cited by 34 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…In particular, such phase looks like a patchwork of the three equivalent monoclinic twins oriented along the three hexagonal axes of the parent rhombohedral phase. Upon raising the temperature of the monoclinic insulator, metallic domains start nucleating along the interfaces between the monoclinic twins 37 , thus forming stripes coexisting with insulating ones, all of them again oriented along the hexagonal axes, in agreement with the experiment in Ref. 35.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…As extensively discussed in the literature 20,21,27,28,37,68,69 , the electronic IMT can be also photo-induced by using ultrashort infrared pulses as the external control parameter. When the excitation is intense enough, the insulating phase collapses on a timescale of ∼30-50 ps transforming into a new phase with the same optical properties as the metallic one.…”

Section: Time-resolved Peem Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Later, it has been observed, still on thin films but now with a c-plane orientation and using X-ray Photoemission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) 37 , that the monoclinic insulator is itself nanotextured. In particular, such phase looks like a patchwork of the three equivalent monoclinic twins oriented along the three hexagonal axes of the parent rhombohedral phase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanoscale self-organisation in Mott insulators: a richness in disguise

Ronchi

Franceschini

Poli

et al. 2021

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Mott transitions in real materials are first order and almost always associated with lattice distortions, both features promoting the emergence of nanotextured phases. This nanoscale self-organization creates spatially inhomogeneous regions, which can host and protect transient non-thermal electronic and lattice states triggered by light excitation. However, to gain full control of the Mott transition for potential applications in the field of ultrafast switching and neuromorphic computing it is necessary to develop novel spatial and temporal multiscale experimental probes as well as theoretical approaches able to distill the complex microscopic physics into a coarse-grained modelling. Here, we combine time-resolved X-ray microscopy, which snaps phase transformations on picosecond timescales with nanometric resolution, with a Landau-Ginzburg functional approach for calculating the strain and electronic real-space configurations. We investigate V2O3, the archetypal Mott insulator in which nanoscale self-organization already exists in the low-temperature monoclinic phase and strongly affects the transition towards the high-temperature corundum metallic phase. Our joint experimental-theoretical approach uncovers a remarkable out-of-equilibrium phenomenon: the photoinduced stabilisation of the long sought monoclinic metal phase, which is absent at equilibrium and in homogeneous materials, but emerges as a metastable state solely when light excitation is combined with the underlying nanotexture of the monoclinic lattice. Our results provide full comprehension of the nanotexture dynamics across the insulator-to-metal transition, which can be readily extended to many families of Mott insulating materials. The combination of ultrafast light excitation and spatial nanotexture turns out to be key to develop novel control protocols in correlated quantum materials.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Time-resolved Peem Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanoscale self-organisation in Mott insulators: a richness in disguise

Ronchi

Franceschini

Poli

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…For instance, when the initial state is purely M 1 , the metallic phase must nucleate in the sample. On the contrary, if the phase coexistence is present in the sample, the preexisting metallic domains may grow, and these processes will have different dynamics [49]. This case may explain why the (200) peak is slow when observed with electron diffraction on freestanding films [7,8] but fast when observed with x-ray diffraction on single crystals [36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Vo2 Host a Transient Monoclinic Metallic Phase?

et al. 2020

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Ultrafast phase transitions induced by femtosecond light pulses present a new opportunity for manipulating the properties of materials. Understanding how these transient states are different from, or similar to, their thermal counterparts is key to determining how materials can exhibit properties that are not found in equilibrium. In this paper, we reexamine the case of the light-induced insulator-metal phase transition in the prototypical, strongly correlated material VO 2 , for which a nonthermal Mott-Hubbard transition has been claimed. Here, we show that heat, even on the ultrafast timescale, plays a key role in the phase transition. When heating is properly accounted for, we find a single phase-transition threshold corresponding to the thermodynamic structural insulator-metal phase transition, and we find no evidence of a hidden transient Mott-Hubbard nonthermal phase. The interplay between the initial thermal state and the ultrafast transition may have implications for other transient states of matter.

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“…[36] Subsequently, metallic domains form at a rate which is limited by the speed of sound, indicating that the metallic state can form only along with the full structural transition. [37,38] These controversies have to be resolved in order to guide judicious theoretical efforts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust Coupling between Structural and Electronic Transitions in a Mott Material

et al. 2019

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The interdependences of different phase transitions in Mott materials are fundamental to the understanding of the mechanisms behind them. One of the most important relations is between the ubiquitous structural and electronic transitions. Using IR spectroscopy, optical reflectivity and x-ray diffraction we show that the metal-insulator transition (MIT) is coupled to the structural phase transition in V2O3 films. This coupling persists even in films with widely varying transition temperatures and strains. Our findings are in contrast to recent experimental findings and theoretical predictions. Using V2O3 as a model system, we discuss the pitfalls in measurements of the electronic and structural states of Mott materials in general, calling for a critical examination of previous work in this field. Our findings also have important implications for the performance of Mott materials in next-generation neuromorphic computing technology.

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Early-stage dynamics of metallic droplets embedded in the nanotextured Mott insulating phase of V2O3

Cited by 34 publications

References 61 publications

Nanoscale self-organisation in Mott insulators: a richness in disguise

Nanoscale self-organisation in Mott insulators: a richness in disguise

Does Vo2 Host a Transient Monoclinic Metallic Phase?

Robust Coupling between Structural and Electronic Transitions in a Mott Material

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