A transient metal

Abstract

Oxide Electronics\nVanadium dioxide is known to have a coupled structural and electronic transition that can be accessed through light, thermal, or electrical excitation. Ultrafast optical studies of this insulator-to-metal transition indicate that it is mediated by the formation of a transient metallic phase that retains the structure of the original insulating phase. Sood et al. show that a similar sequence occurs when the material is electrically excited with a series of voltage pulses. Using ultrafast electron diffraction, the researchers monitored the structure of a vanadium dioxide sample after excitation and found evidence of a metastable metallic phase that appears during the transition.\n\nScience , abc0652, this issue p. [352][1]\n\n [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abc0652