Biological neurons are electro-mechanical systems, where the generation and propagation of an action potential are coupled to the generation and transmission of an acoustic wave. Neuristors, such as VO2, characterized by insulator-metal transition (IMT) and negative differential resistance, can be engineered as self-oscillators, which are good approximations of biological neurons in the domain of electrical signals. In this study, we show that these self-oscillators are coupled electro-opto-mechanical systems, with better energy conversion coefficients than the conventional electro-mechanical or electro-optical materials. This is due to the significant contrast in the material's resistance, optical refractive index, and density across the induced temperature range in a Joule heating driven IMT. We carried out laser interferometry to measure the opto-mechanical response while simultaneously driving the devices electrically into self-oscillations of different kinds. We analyzed films of various thicknesses, engineered device geometry, and performed analytical modeling to decouple the effects of refractive index change vis-à-vis mechanical strain in the interferometry signal. We show that the effective piezoelectric coefficient (d13*) for our neuristor devices is 660 20 pm/V, with a 31% internal energy conversion efficiency, making them viable alternatives to Pb-based piezoelectrics for MEMS applications. Furthermore, we show that the effective electro-optic coefficient (r13*) is ∼22 nm/V, which is much larger than that in thin-film and bulk Pockels materials.
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Large electro-opto-mechanical coupling in VO2 neuristors
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June 2024
Research Article|
April 17 2024
Large electro-opto-mechanical coupling in VO2 neuristors
Upanya Khandelwal
;
Upanya Khandelwal
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Rama Satya Sandilya
;
Rama Satya Sandilya
(Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Rajeev Kumar Rai
;
Rajeev Kumar Rai
(Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
2
Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
, 3231 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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Deepak Sharma
;
Deepak Sharma
(Methodology)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Smruti Rekha Mahapatra
;
Smruti Rekha Mahapatra
(Resources, Validation, Writing – review & editing)
3
Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Debasish Mondal
;
Debasish Mondal
(Resources)
3
Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Navakanta Bhat
;
Navakanta Bhat
(Resources, Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Naga Phani Aetkuri
;
Naga Phani Aetkuri
(Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing – review & editing)
3
Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Sushobhan Avasthi
;
Sushobhan Avasthi
(Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Saurabh Chandorkar
;
Saurabh Chandorkar
a)
(Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Pavan Nukala
Pavan Nukala
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
Center for Nanoscience and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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Appl. Phys. Rev. 11, 021410 (2024)
Article history
Received:
July 29 2023
Accepted:
March 27 2024
Citation
Upanya Khandelwal, Rama Satya Sandilya, Rajeev Kumar Rai, Deepak Sharma, Smruti Rekha Mahapatra, Debasish Mondal, Navakanta Bhat, Naga Phani Aetkuri, Sushobhan Avasthi, Saurabh Chandorkar, Pavan Nukala; Large electro-opto-mechanical coupling in VO2 neuristors. Appl. Phys. Rev. 1 June 2024; 11 (2): 021410. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0169859
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