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Fabrication of Nanopillar-Based Split Ring Resonators for Displacement Current Mediated Resonances in Terahertz Metamaterials
Published on: March 23, 2017
Detecting nanoscale size dependence in VO2 phase transition using a split-ring resonator metamaterial.
Kannatassen Appavoo1, Richard F Haglund
1Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235-1807, United States. k.appavoo@vanderbilt.edu
Nano Letters
|February 11, 2011
Summary
The size of nanoscale vanadium dioxide (VO(2)) volumes affects its phase transition hysteresis. Smaller volumes show broader hysteresis, indicating fewer nucleation sites influence the insulator-metal transition.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Vanadium dioxide (VO(2)) exhibits a unique thermochromic phase transition between insulating and metallic states.
- Understanding phase transition dynamics in nanoscale materials is crucial for device applications.
- Split-ring resonators provide a platform for confining and probing nanoscale phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the size dependence of the solid-solid phase transformation in nanoscale VO(2).
- To correlate the hysteresis width of the insulator-metal transition with the volume of VO(2).
- To explore the interplay between electronic and structural switching components at the nanoscale.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing split-ring resonators to define discrete nanoscale volumes of VO(2).
- Monitoring the in-coupling plasmonic mode to track the phase transition.
- Thermally cycling the VO(2) samples through the insulator-metal transition to observe hysteresis.
Main Results:
- The hysteresis width of the VO(2) phase transition was observed to broaden as the interrogation volume decreased.
- Reduced interrogation volume correlates with a reduced number of intrinsic nucleation sites.
- A specific volume range was identified where electronic and structural switching components display similar size dependence.
Conclusions:
- The phase transformation behavior of VO(2) is strongly influenced by its nanoscale dimensions.
- Nucleation site density plays a critical role in determining the hysteresis of the insulator-metal transition.
- These findings offer insights into the fundamental mechanisms governing nanoscale phase transitions in VO(2).
