title: Voltage- and current-activated metal-insulator transition in VO2-based electrical switches: a lifetime operation analysis.
abstract: Vanadium dioxide is an intensively studied material that undergoes a temperature-induced metal-insulator phase transition accompanied by a large change in electrical resistivity. Electrical switches based on this material show promising properties in terms of speed and broadband operation. The exploration of the failure behavior and reliability of such devices is very important in view of their integration in practical electronic circuits. We performed systematic lifetime investigations of two-terminal switches based on the electrical activation of the metal-insulator transition in VO2thin films. The devices were integrated in coplanar microwave waveguides (CPWs) in series configuration. We detected the evolution of a 10 GHz microwave signal transmitted through the CPW, modulated by the activation of the VO2switches in both voltage- and current-controlled modes. We demonstrated enhanced lifetime operation of current-controlled VO2-based switching (more than 260 million cycles without failure) compared with the voltage-activated mode (breakdown at around 16 million activation cycles). The evolution of the electrical self-oscillations of a VO2-based switch induced in the current-operated mode is a subtle indicator of the material properties modification and can be used to monitor its behavior under various external stresses in sensor applications.
authors.affiliation: XLIM Research Institute UMR no. 6172, CNRS/Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Aurelian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crunteanu
authors.affiliation: XLIM Research Institute UMR no. 6172, CNRS/Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Givernaud
authors.affiliation: XLIM Research Institute UMR no. 6172, CNRS/Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.affiliation: XLIM Research Institute UMR no. 6172, CNRS/Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mardivirin
authors.affiliation: SPCTS UMR no. 6638, CNRS/ Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Champeaux
authors.affiliation: SPCTS UMR no. 6638, CNRS/ Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Orlianges
authors.affiliation: XLIM Research Institute UMR no. 6172, CNRS/Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Catherinot
authors.affiliation: XLIM Research Institute UMR no. 6172, CNRS/Université de Limoges, 123 avenue Albert Thomas, 87060 Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blondy
keywords: electrical switching; lifetime operation; metal–insulator transition; vanadium dioxide