Electromechanical actuation and current-induced metastable states in suspended single-crystalline VO₂ nanoplatelets

Nano Lett. 2011 Aug 10;11(8):3065-73. doi: 10.1021/nl200493k. Epub 2011 Jul 6.

Abstract

Current-induced electromechanical actuation enabled by the metal-insulator transition in VO(2) nanoplatelets is demonstrated. The Joule heating by a sufficient current flowing through suspended nanoplatelets results in formation of heterophase domain patterns and is accompanied by nanoplatelet deformation. The actuation action can be achieved in a wide temperature range below the bulk phase transition temperature (68 °C). The observed current-sustained heterophase domain structures should be interpreted as distinct metastable states in free-standing and end-clamped VO(2) samples. We analyze the main prerequisites for the realization of a current-controlled actuator based on the proposed concept.