Localized Triggering of the Insulator-Metal Transition in VO2 using a Single Carbon Nanotube

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that nanoscale carbon nanotube heaters can locally trigger the insulator-metal transition in VO2 at lower power and voltage, providing insights into nanoscale control of phase transitions for potential electronic applications.

Contribution

The paper introduces the use of ~1 nm wide carbon nanotubes as localized heaters to induce the IMT in VO2, revealing the importance of nanoscale thermal engineering.

Findings

Single CNT heaters trigger VO2 IMT at less than half the voltage of control devices.

Switching power as low as ~85 μW at 300 nm device length.

Local heating by CNTs is key to the IMT, confirmed by microscopy and simulations.

Abstract

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) has been widely studied for its rich physics and potential applications, undergoing a prominent insulator-metal transition (IMT) near room temperature. The transition mechanism remains highly debated, and little is known about the IMT at nanoscale dimensions. To shed light on this problem, here we use ~1 nm wide carbon nanotube (CNT) heaters to trigger the IMT in VO2. Single metallic CNTs switch the adjacent VO2 at less than half the voltage and power required by control devices without a CNT, with switching power as low as ~85 ${\mu}W$ at 300 nm device lengths. We also obtain potential and temperature maps of devices during operation using Kelvin Probe Microscopy (KPM) and Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM). Comparing these with three-dimensional electrothermal simulations, we find that the local heating of the VO2 by the CNT play a key role in the IMT. These results demonstrate the ability to trigger IMT in VO2 using nanoscale heaters, and highlight the significance of thermal engineering to improve device behaviour.