Opt Express. 2023 Apr 10;31(8):13243-13254. doi: 10.1364/OE.488947.
Exploring flexible electronics is on the verge of innovative breakthroughs in terahertz (THz) communication technology. Vanadium dioxide (VO) with insulator-metal transition (IMT) has excellent application potential in various THz smart devices, but the associated THz modulation properties in the flexible state have rarely been reported. Herein, we deposited an epitaxial VO film on a flexible mica substrate via pulsed-laser deposition and investigated its THz modulation properties under different uniaxial strains across the phase transition. It was observed that the THz modulation depth increases under compressive strain and decreases under tensile strain. Moreover, the phase-transition threshold depends on the uniaxial strain. Particularly, the rate of the phase transition temperature depends on the uniaxial strain and reaches approximately 6 °C/% in the temperature-induced phase transition. The optical trigger threshold in laser-induced phase transition decreased by 38.9% under compressive strain but increased by 36.7% under tensile strain, compared to the initial state without uniaxial strain. These findings demonstrate the uniaxial strain-induced low-power triggered THz modulation and provide new insights for applying phase transition oxide films in THz flexible electronics.
探索灵活电子学在太赫兹 (THz) 通信技术方面的创新突破。具有绝缘-金属转变 (IMT) 的二氧化钒 (VO) 在各种太赫兹智能器件中具有极好的应用潜力，但在柔性状态下相关的太赫兹调制特性却鲜有报道。在此，我们通过脉冲激光沉积在柔性云母衬底上沉积了外延 VO 薄膜，并研究了在相变过程中不同单轴应变下的太赫兹调制特性。结果表明，在压缩应变下，太赫兹调制深度增加，而在拉伸应变下则减小。此外，相变阈值取决于单轴应变。特别是，相变温度的变化率取决于单轴应变，在温度诱导的相变中达到约 6°C/%。与初始无单轴应变状态相比，在压缩应变下激光诱导相变的光学触发阈值降低了 38.9%，而在拉伸应变下则增加了 36.7%。这些发现证明了单轴应变诱导的低功率触发太赫兹调制，并为在太赫兹柔性电子学中应用相变氧化物薄膜提供了新的见解。
