Electrical transport in vanadium dioxide nanostructures - New physics and potential applications

VO₂ is an interesting correlated electron material that exhibits an above room temperature metal-insulator transition that spans more than four orders of magnitude in conductivity. This system has been studied extensively due to the fundamental questions about the mechanism behind the metal-insulator transitions and the possibility of utilizing these nanostructures in a variety of applications such as electrical switches, optical switches and bolometers. The tunability of the transition temperature, hysteresis widths, and magnitude of hysteresis using a slew of experimental techniques make this system an interesting material to study. In this review, we present an experimental overview of the electrical transport properties of vanadium oxide nanostructures and discuss its potential for applications.