Simultaneous multi-domain transformation of vanadium dioxide for reconfigurable metamaterial architectures

Vanadium dioxide (VO2), a thermochromic material, undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition resulting from a thermally induced crystallographic transformation. The monoclinic insulator phase transitions to a rutile metallic phase resulting in a fast reversible transition of an array of its material properties. Here, we present the temperature-induced multi-physical transformation of a VO2 thin film grown via physical vapor deposition. Growth of the phase-changing oxide, structural characterization of the thin film, electrical transition, and the in situ thermo-mechanical response of the deposited film will be discussed. Further, we present simulation results from the investigation of these material properties in the context of actuation of VO2-bimorphs for a vertical switch and discuss how the application of this material may be extended to aerospace applications.