On the Field‐Induced Insulator–Metal Transition in VO2 Films

First‐order metal‐insulator transitions (MITs) in crystalline materials correspond to a transformation between states with a dielectric and metallic types of conductivity. These transitions occur under the influence of external parameters, such as temperature and pressure, as well as with varying material composition. Materials exhibiting these phenomena include many transition metal oxides. First‐order metal insulator phase transitions in thin vanadium dioxide (VO₂) films can be controlled by an applied electric field. This chapter discusses the conditions under which the transition can be induced in the entire film, rather than its top sliver. It shows that the favorable situation can be realized when the film is sufficiently thin, so that the energy cost of converting the entire film into the metallic phase is smaller than the would‐be cost of creating a domain boundary between the two phases. The chapter argues that in thin enough films, the entire‐film transition can be stabilized by the domain boundary energy.