Photoinduced insulator-metal phase transition and the metallic phase propagation in VO2 films investigated by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy.

The particle size and film thickness dependence of the photoinduced insulator-metal phase transition in VO2 films has been studied systematically by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy at room temperature. It is found that the dynamical photoinduced phase transition from insulator to metal consists of two processes: a 1.7 ps fast process and a slow process with a typical time constant of 40 ps. Both of the two processes show particle size independence. The 40 ps slow process is revealed to arise from the longitudinal propagation of the metallic phase from the photoexcited surface to the interior of the VO2 film. A phase boundary propagation speed with a magnitude of ∼2400 m/s is obtained, which is close to the velocity of sound in solid materials and coincides with the prediction of diffusionless phase transformation. Our experimental results clearly establish the entire procedure of photoinduced phase change in the VO2 film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]