Thermally driven sign switch of static dielectric constant of VO2 thin film

• Sign switch of the static dielectric constant εS of pure VO2 from positive at T to negative at T > 70 °C.
• Tunability and switchability of the dielectric constant (ε) via external temperature stimuli.
• Abrupt thermal hysteresis of the VO2 dielectric constant.

Smart multifunctional materials exhibiting phase transition and tunable optical and/electrical properties provide a new direction towards engineering switchable devices. Specifically, the reversible, tunable and sign switch dielectric constants via external temperature stimuli observed in vanadium dioxide (VO2) make it a candidate of choice for tunable and switchable technologies devices. Here we report new aspect of the metal-insulator transition (MIT) through the sign switch of the static dielectric constant εS of pure VO2. As it is shown, the static dielectric constant showed an abrupt change from positive at T < 70 °C to negative at T > 70 °C. εS > 0 confirms the insulating phase where charges are localized while εS < 0 confirms the metallic phase of VO2 where charges are delocalized. We report for the first time the tunability of the dielectric constant from a negative sign for the static dielectric constant of VO2 thin film rarely found in real physical systems. We also demonstrate the tunability and switchability of the real and imaginary part of the dielectric constant (ε) via external temperature stimuli. More specifically, the real (ε) and Imaginary (ε) showed an abrupt thermal hysteresis which clearly confirms the phase transition.