Near-Field Nanoimaging of Phases and Carrier Dynamics in Vanadium Dioxide Nanobeams.

The stable coexistence of insulating and metallic phases in strained vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) has garnered significant research interest due to the intriguing phase transition phenomena. However, the temporal behavior of charge carriers in different phases of VO 2 remains elusive. Herein, we employ near-field optical nanoscopy to capture nanoscale alternating phase domains in bent VO 2 nanobeams. By conducting transient measurements across the different phases, we observed a prolonged carrier recombination lifetime in the metallic phase of VO 2 , accompanied by an accelerated diffusion process. Our findings reveal nanoscale carrier dynamics in VO 2 nanobeams, offering insights that can facilitate further investigations into phase-change materials and their potential applications in sensing and microelectromechanical devices.