metal-to-insulator transition tagged posts

Network of conducting and insulating rivers as seen in a metal-oxide in the middle of a phase transition. Credit: A.S. Mueller

Physicists have for the first time succeeded in directly visualising on small scales how a material abruptly changes its state from conducting to insulating at low temperatures. Researchers provide evidence for a 60-year-old theory that explains this phenomenon and pave the way for more energy efficient technologies. Materials that conduct electricity at high temperature but are insulating at lower temperatures have been known for decades. However, until recently it was not possible to directly measure how such phase transitions proceed on small length scales...

Characterization of VO2 films grown on a 3-inch r plane sapphire substrate

Penn State Materials scientist have just discovered a way to give the workhorse transistor a big boost, using a new technique to incorporate vanadium oxide, one of a family of materials called functional oxides, into the device.

Vanadium dioxide have an unusual property: metal-to-insulator transition. In the metal state, electrons move freely, while in the insulator state, electrons cannot flow. This on/off transition, inherent to vanadium dioxide, is also the basis of computer logic and memory.

Benchmark of VO2 thin films.

If they could add vanadium oxide close to the transistor it could boost the transistor’s performance...