Modulation of metal–insulator transition in VO2 films by uniaxial stress

We report effective control of the metal–to–insulator transition (MIT) temperature in polycrystalline VO2 thin films grown on flexible µ–sheet glass substrate by applying uniaxial compressive stress during deposition. The MIT temperature decreases from 334.5 K to 321.5 K under a compressive stress of only 0.18 GPa, corresponding to a slope of 0.072 K/MPa, which is attributed to weakened Peierls–type dimerization. This exceptionally high sensitivity demonstrates that even MPa-level stresses, achievable by bending the supporting substrate, are sufficient to tune the transition temperature. Our findings open a new route for engineering the MIT in VO2 through ultralow– strain engineering, thereby enabling industrial applications such as flexible thermochromic devices.