Ultrafast Phase Transition Dynamics in Strained Vanadium Dioxide Films

An ultrafast insulator–metal–insulator phase transition cycle in epitaxially strained vanadium dioxide films is observed. The films are characterized by optoelectronic autocorrelation measurements that reveal a 400 fs transient change in response spanning two orders in magnitude. These findings suggest a predominantly electronic mechanism and demonstrate the promise of this material for optoelectronic applications requiring fast, high-contrast switching.