Physical Origin of Negative Differential Resistance in V₃O₅ and Its Application as a Solid-State Oscillator

Oxides that exhibit an insulator–metal transition can be used to fabricate energy-efficient relaxation oscillators for use in hardware-based neural networks but there are very few oxides with transition temperatures above room temperature. Here the structural, electrical, and thermal properties of V₃O₅ thin films and their application as the functional oxide in metal/oxide/metal relaxation oscillators are reported. The V₃O₅ devices show electroforming-free volatile threshold switching and negative differential resistance (NDR) with stable (<3% variation) cycle-to-cycle operation. The physical mechanisms underpinning these characteristics are investigated using a combination of electrical measurements, in situ thermal imaging, and device modeling. This shows that conduction is confined to a narrow filamentary path due to self-confinement of the current distribution and that the NDR response is initiated at temperatures well below the insulator–metal transition temperature where it is dominated by the temperature-dependent conductivity of the insulating phase. Finally, the dynamics of individual and coupled V₃O₅-based relaxation oscillators is reported, showing that capacitively coupled devices exhibit rich non-linear dynamics, including frequency and phase synchronization. These results establish V₃O₅ as a new functional material for volatile threshold switching and advance the development of robust solid-state neurons for neuromorphic computing.