Jamming-controlled stochasticity in metal-insulator switching

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: D'Anna, Nicolò, Ghazikhanian, Nareg, Matthews, Katherine, Ham, Daseul, Lee, Su Yong, Frano, Alex, Schuller, Ivan K., Shpyrko, Oleg
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author D'Anna, Nicolò
Ghazikhanian, Nareg
Matthews, Katherine
Ham, Daseul
Lee, Su Yong
Frano, Alex
Schuller, Ivan K.
Shpyrko, Oleg
author_facet D'Anna, Nicolò
Ghazikhanian, Nareg
Matthews, Katherine
Ham, Daseul
Lee, Su Yong
Frano, Alex
Schuller, Ivan K.
Shpyrko, Oleg
contents Understanding and controlling phase transitions is a fundamental part of physics and has been central to many technological revolutions, from steam engines to field-effect transistors. At present, there is strong interest in materials with strongly coupled structural and electronic phase transitions, which hold promise for energy-efficient technologies. Utilizing a structural phase transition and controlling its plasticity naturally leads to built-in memory, a key feature for emulating neurons and synapses in neuromorphic technologies. Here, $\textit{operando}$ Bragg X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy is used to study the evolution of the nano-domain distribution at the micron-scale in neuromorphic devices made from the archetypal Mott insulator vanadium dioxide. It is found that after electrical switching, slow nano-domain reconfiguration occurs on timescales of thousands of seconds and that the domains undergo a jamming transition, offering control over switching stochasticity at the micron scale. More precisely, repetitive above-threshold currents plastically drive the system into a jammed/glassy state where switching becomes deterministic, while sub-threshold currents erase the short-term memory contained in the nano-domain distribution, recovering stochastic switching, thus offering a path for in-device learning. The results illustrate the importance of studying the nanoscale physics associated with phase transitions in strongly correlated materials, even for macroscopic devices, and offer guidance for future device operation schemes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_11302
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Jamming-controlled stochasticity in metal-insulator switching
D'Anna, Nicolò
Ghazikhanian, Nareg
Matthews, Katherine
Ham, Daseul
Lee, Su Yong
Frano, Alex
Schuller, Ivan K.
Shpyrko, Oleg
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Understanding and controlling phase transitions is a fundamental part of physics and has been central to many technological revolutions, from steam engines to field-effect transistors. At present, there is strong interest in materials with strongly coupled structural and electronic phase transitions, which hold promise for energy-efficient technologies. Utilizing a structural phase transition and controlling its plasticity naturally leads to built-in memory, a key feature for emulating neurons and synapses in neuromorphic technologies. Here, $\textit{operando}$ Bragg X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy is used to study the evolution of the nano-domain distribution at the micron-scale in neuromorphic devices made from the archetypal Mott insulator vanadium dioxide. It is found that after electrical switching, slow nano-domain reconfiguration occurs on timescales of thousands of seconds and that the domains undergo a jamming transition, offering control over switching stochasticity at the micron scale. More precisely, repetitive above-threshold currents plastically drive the system into a jammed/glassy state where switching becomes deterministic, while sub-threshold currents erase the short-term memory contained in the nano-domain distribution, recovering stochastic switching, thus offering a path for in-device learning. The results illustrate the importance of studying the nanoscale physics associated with phase transitions in strongly correlated materials, even for macroscopic devices, and offer guidance for future device operation schemes.
title Jamming-controlled stochasticity in metal-insulator switching
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11302