Tuning the Hysteresis of a Metal-Insulator Transition via Lattice Compatibility

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the thermal hysteresis of a metal-insulator transition in a strongly correlated oxide can be tuned by adjusting lattice constants, highlighting the importance of structural compatibility in phase transition properties.

Contribution

The study applies the non-linear martensite theory to a correlated oxide system, showing that lattice compatibility controls hysteresis in metal-insulator transitions.

Findings

Hysteresis can be tuned by lattice constant adjustments.

Structural compatibility influences electronic phase transitions.

Universal guidance for optimizing phase-transforming materials.

Abstract

Structural phase transitions serve as the basis for many functional applications including shape memory alloys (SMAs), switches based on metal-insulator transitions (MITs), etc. In such materials, lattice incompatibility between phases often results in a thermal hysteresis, which is intimately tied to degradation of reversibility of the transformation. The non-linear theory of martensite suggests that the hysteresis of a martensitic phase transformation is solely determined by the lattice constants, and the conditions proposed for geometrical compatibility have been successfully applied to minimizing the hysteresis in SMAs. In this work, we apply the non-linear theory to a strongly correlated oxide system (W doped VO2), and show that the hysteresis of the MIT in the system can be directly tuned by adjusting the lattice constants of the phases. The results underscore the profound influence structural compatibility has on intrinsic electronic properties, and indicate that the theory provides a universal guidance for optimizing phase transforming materials.