Observation of Mott Transition in VO₂ Based Transistors

An abrupt Mott metal-insulator transition (MIT) rather than the continuous Hubbard MIT near a critical on-site Coulomb energy U/U_c=1 is observed for the first time in VO_2, a strongly correlated material, by inducing holes of about 0.018% into the conduction band. As a result, a discontinuous jump of the density of states on the Fermi surface is observed and inhomogeneity inevitably occurs. The gate effect in fabricated transistors is clear evidence that the abrupt MIT is induced by the excitation of holes.