Imaging Nanometer Phase Coexistence at Defects During the Insulator–Metal Phase Transformation in VO2 Thin Films by Resonant Soft X-ray Holography
Open Access
- 16 May 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Nano Letters
- Vol. 18 (6), 3449-3453
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b00458
Abstract
We use resonant soft X-ray holography to image the insulator-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide with element and polarization specificity and nanometer spatial resolution. We observe that nanoscale inhomogenity in the film results in spatial-dependent transition pathways between the insulating and metallic states. Additional nanoscale phases form in the vicinity of defects which are not apparent in the initial or final states of the system, which would be missed in area-integrated X-ray absorption measurements. These intermediate phases are vital to understand the phase transition in VO2 and our results demonstrate how resonant imaging can be used to understand the electronic properties of phase separated correlated materials obtained by X-ray absorption.Keywords
Funding Information
- Fundaci?n Cellex
- FP7 People: Marie-Curie Actions (618487)
- Ministerio de Econom?a y Competitividad (RYC-2013-14838, SEV-2015-0522)
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science (EECS-1509740)
- Division of Materials Research (DMR-1207507)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin f?r Materialien und Energie
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