Hysteresis in the electronic transport of V ₂ O ₃ thin films: Non-exponential kinetics and range scale of phase coexistence

Abstract

The thermal hysteresis of the electronic transport properties were studied for V2O3 thin films. The temporal evolution of the resistance shows the out-of-equilibrium nature of this hysteresis with a very slow relaxation. Partial cycles reveal not only a behavior consistent with phase coexistence, but also the presence of spinodal temperatures which are largely separated. The temperature spreading of phase coexistence is consistent with the bulk phase diagram in the pressure-temperature plane, confirming that the film is effectively under an effective pressure induced by the substrate.

Electrical Breakdown in a V2O3 device at the Insulator to Metal Transition

“…Similar effects were reported in VO 2 devices [11]. The slight influence of the sweep velocity on the IV might be caused by a slowed down relaxation of a small fraction of the film due to the spread in the IMT temperatures of individual domains [12].…”

“…IV are the results of the RT hysteresis as well as the distribution of IMT temperatures of nanoscaled domains in the polycrystalline thin film. It is plausible that the RT hysteresis originates from the structural bistability reported earlier [14][15][16] and the spread in the transition temperatures is most likely caused by differences in the strain in the polycrystalline film [12,17]. At a base temperature of 145 K the overall IV and the ETDs (filaments) depicted in Fig.…”

Relaxation dynamics of the metal-semiconductor transition in VO2 thin films

“…15 In Ref. 16, a logarithmic relaxation of the resistance was observed in a very thin V 2 O 3 film. The MI transition was far from "nor- mal," with nonmonotonic ͑dR / dT͒ and a very broad transition ͑140 K͒.…”

Kinetic Spinodal Instabilities in the Mott Transition inV2O3: Evidence from Hysteresis Scaling and Dissipative Phase Ordering

“…But many real systems do spontaneously fall out of equilibrium in a window of thermal hysteresis around the abrupt phase transition (APT) [2]. The accompanying nonergodic behaviorarrested kinetics [3,4], spatial inhomogeneity [5,6] and phase coexistence [7][8][9], and rate dependence [10][11][12]-is well documented.…”