Spatial imaging of the interplay between structure and electrical switching in VO2 micro-wires

Mott insulators are prominent candidates for building blocks of novel neuromorphic technologies due to the ability of external stimuli to induce insulator-to-metal transitions. These electronic transitions are often coupled to structural phase transitions, providing means to tune electronic properties and develop novel resistive switching functionalities. We aim to shed light on the interplay between structural degrees of freedom and the switching process by imaging the structural phases and strains in response to electrical stimuli in single crystals of the canonical Mott insulator VO2, using dark field x-ray microscopy.