Coherent structural dynamics and electronic correlations during an ultrafast insulator-to-metal phase transition in VO2

We directly trace the multi-THz conductivity of VO2 during an insulator-metal transition triggered by a 12-fs light pulse. The femtosecond dynamics of lattice and electronic degrees of freedom are spectrally discriminated. A coherent wave packet motion of V-V dimers at 6 THz modulates the lattice po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2007-09, Vol.99 (11), p.116401-116401
Main Authors: Kübler, C, Ehrke, H, Huber, R, Lopez, R, Halabica, A, Haglund, Jr, R F, Leitenstorfer, A
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We directly trace the multi-THz conductivity of VO2 during an insulator-metal transition triggered by a 12-fs light pulse. The femtosecond dynamics of lattice and electronic degrees of freedom are spectrally discriminated. A coherent wave packet motion of V-V dimers at 6 THz modulates the lattice polarizability for approximately 1 ps. In contrast, the electronic conductivity settles to a constant value already after one V-V oscillation cycle. Based on our findings, we propose a qualitative model for the nonthermal phase transition.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.116401