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Achieving the full understanding and control of the insulator-to-metal transition in Mott materials is key for the next generation of electronics devices, with applications ranging from ultrafast transistors, volatile and non-volatile memories and artificial neurons for neuromorphic computing. In this work, we will review the state-of-the-art knowledge of the Mott transition, with specific focus on the paradigmatic Mott insulator V2O3. We will emphasize the current attempts in controlling the Mott switching dynamics via the application of external voltage and electromagnetic pulses and we will discuss how the recent advances in time- and space-resolved techniques are boosting the comprehension of the firing process and the role of topological defects of the order parameter. The nature of the voltage/light-induced Mott switching is inherently different from what is attainable by the slower variation of thermodynamic parameters, thus offering promising routes to achieving the reversible and ultrafast coherent control of conductivity in Mott nanodevices. A. Milloch et al. Mott resistive switching initiated by topological defects. Accepted in Nat. Commun. A. Milloch et al. Mott materials: unsuccessful metals with a bright future. npj Spintronics 2, 49 (2024) A. Ronchi et al. Nanoscale self-organization and metastable non-thermal metallicity in Mott insulators. Nat. Commun. 13, 3730 (2022)

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Claudio Gianetti, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Brescia
PH2
Contact: Paul van Loosdrecht