Reversible 100 mA Current Switching in a VO₂/Al₂O₃-Based Two-Terminal Device Using Focused Far-Infrared Laser Pulses

In this study, we implemented reversible current switching (RCS) of 100 mA in a two-terminal device based on a vanadium dioxide (VO₂) thin film, which could be controlled by far-infrared (FIR) laser pulses. The VO₂ thin films used for fabrication of two-terminal devices were grown on sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrates using a pulsed laser deposition method. An optimal deposition condition was determined by analyzing the resistance-temperature curves of deposited VO₂ thin films and the current-voltage characteristics of two-terminal devices based on these films, which were suggested in our previous works. The film surface of the VO₂-based device was directly irradiated using focused CO₂ laser pulses, and the insulator-metal transition or metal-insulator transition of the VO₂ thin film could be triggered depending on laser irradiation. Consequently, RCS of up to 100 mA could be accomplished. This on-state current is close to the upper limit of the current flowing through our VO₂ device. The switching contrast, defined as the ratio between on-state and off-state currents, was evaluated and found to be ˜11,962. The average rising and falling times of the switched current were found to be ˜29.2 and ˜71.7 ms, respectively. In comparison with our previous work, the improved heat dissipation structure and the high-quality thin film could maintain the switching contrast at a similar level, although the on-state current was increased by about two times.