Nanotextured Dynamics of a Light-Induced Phase Transition in VO2

Aaron J. Sternbach; Francesco L. Ruta; Yin Shi; Tetiana Slusar; Jacob Schalch; Guangwu Duan; Alexander S. McLeod; Xin Zhang; Mengkun Liu; Andrew J. Millis; Hyun-Tak Kim; Long-Qing Chen; Richard D. Averitt; D. N. Basov

Nanotextured Dynamics of a Light-Induced Phase Transition in VO2

We investigate transient nanotextured heterogeneity in vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films during a light-induced insulator-to-metal transition (IMT). Timeresolved scanning near-field optical microscopy (Tr-SNOM) is used to study VO2 across a wide parameter space of infrared frequencies, picosecond time scales, and elevated steady-state temperatures with nanoscale spatial resolution. Room temperature, steady-state, phonon enhanced nano-optical contrast reveals preexisting "hidden" disorder. The observed contrast is associated with inequivalent twin domain structures. Upon thermal or optical initiation of the IMT, coexisting metallic and insulating regions are observed. Correlations between the transient and steady-state nano-optical textures reveal that heterogeneous nucleation is partially anchored to twin domain interfaces and grain boundaries. Ultrafast nanoscopic dynamics enable quantification of the growth rate and bound the nucleation rate. Finally, we deterministically anchor photoinduced nucleation to predefined nanoscopic regions by locally enhancing the electric field of pump radiation using nanoantennas and monitor the on-demand emergent metallicity in space and time.

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Work Title	Nanotextured Dynamics of a Light-Induced Phase Transition in VO2
Access	Open Access
Creators	Aaron J. Sternbach Francesco L. Ruta Yin Shi Tetiana Slusar Jacob Schalch Guangwu Duan Alexander S. McLeod Xin Zhang Mengkun Liu Andrew J. Millis Hyun-Tak Kim Long-Qing Chen Richard D. Averitt D. N. Basov
Keyword	Quantum materials Ultrafast nanospectroscopy Vanadium dioxide s-SNOM Phase transition Nucleation and growth
License	In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type	Article
Publisher	Nano Letters
Publication Date	November 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02638
Deposited	August 11, 2022

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Nanotextured Dynamics of a Light-Induced Phase Transition in VO2

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Nanotextured Dynamics of a Light-Induced Phase Transition in VO2

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