Electrically driven reversible insulator-metal phase transition in 1T-TaS2

Matthew J. Hollander, Yu Liu, Wen Jian Lu, Li Jun Li, Yu Ping Sun, Joshua A. Robinson, Suman Datta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

133 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this work, we demonstrate abrupt, reversible switching of resistance in 1T-TaS2 using dc and pulsed sources, corresponding to an insulator-metal transition between the insulating Mott and equilibrium metallic states. This transition occurs at a constant critical resistivity of 7 mohm-cm regardless of temperature or bias conditions and the transition time is significantly smaller than abrupt transitions by avalanche breakdown in other small gap Mott insulating materials. Furthermore, this critical resistivity corresponds to a carrier density of 4.5 × 1019 cm-3, which compares well with the critical carrier density for the commensurate to nearly commensurate charge density wave transition. These results suggest that the transition is facilitated by a carrier driven collapse of the Mott gap in 1T-TaS2, which results in fast (3 ns) switching.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1861-1866
Number of pages6
JournalNano letters
Volume15
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 11 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Bioengineering
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanical Engineering

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