Early stages of the metal-to-insulator transition of a thin V2O3 film

The metal-to-insulator (MI) transition of a V2O3 thin film is studied, using a surface acoustic wave delay line. The V2O3 film covers not only the sound path but also one of the interdigital transducers (IDTs). The resulting mismatch of the IDTs detunes the delay line, until the film passes through...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2008-03, Vol.103 (6)
Main Authors: Müller, C., Nateprov, A. A., Klemm, M., Wixforth, A., Tidecks, R., Horn, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The metal-to-insulator (MI) transition of a V2O3 thin film is studied, using a surface acoustic wave delay line. The V2O3 film covers not only the sound path but also one of the interdigital transducers (IDTs). The resulting mismatch of the IDTs detunes the delay line, until the film passes through the MI transition. This “self-retuning” behavior makes the device extremely sensitive to the initial changes of the electrical and dielectric properties of the film during the MI transition. Attenuation and sound velocity are measured between 260 and 4.2K. Both suggest a precursor to the MI transition in the paramagnetic metallic regime. The existence of a precursor is consistent with recent extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. An oscillatory behavior with steep reductions of the sound velocity is observed during the MI transition. The reductions of the sound velocity probably indicate the recently predicted anomaly at the Mott transition.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.2871302