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Updated: May 2, 2026

Atomic Layer Deposition of Vanadium Dioxide and a Temperature-dependent Optical Model
Published on: May 23, 2018
Extraordinary dynamic mechanical response of vanadium dioxide nanowires around the insulator to metal phase
Aaron Holsteen1, In Soo Kim, Lincoln J Lauhon
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University , Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.
Abstract:
Nanomechanical resonators provide a compelling platform to investigate and exploit phase transitions coupled to mechanical degrees of freedom because resonator frequencies and quality factors are exquisitely sensitive to changes in state, particularly for discontinuous changes accompanying a first-order phase transition. Correlated scanning fiber-optic interferometry and dual-beam Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate mechanical fluctuations of vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanowires across the first order insulator to metal transition. Unusually large and controllable changes in resonator frequency were observed due to the influences of domain wall motion and anomalous phonon softening on the effective modulus. In addition, extraordinary static and dynamic displacements were generated by local strain gradients, suggesting new classes of sensors and nanoelectromechanical devices with programmable discrete outputs as a function of continuous inputs.
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