@article{deJongKukrejaTrabantetal.2013, author = {de Jong, S. and Kukreja, R. and Trabant, C. and Pontius, N. and Chang, C. F. and Kachel, T. and Beye, Martin and Sorgenfrei, Florian and Back, C. H. and Braeuer, B. and Schlotter, W. F. and Turner, J. J. and Krupin, O. and Doehler, M. and Zhu, D. and Hossain, M. A. and Scherz, A. O. and Fausti, D. and Novelli, F. and Esposito, M. and Lee, W. S. and Chuang, Y. D. and Lu, D. H. and Moore, R. G. and Yi, M. and Trigo, M. and Kirchmann, P. and Pathey, L. and Golden, M. S. and Buchholz, Marcel and Metcalf, P. and Parmigiani, F. and Wurth, W. and F{\"o}hlisch, Alexander and Schuessler-Langeheine, Christian and Duerr, H. A.}, title = {Speed limit of the insulator-metal transition in magnetite}, series = {Nature materials}, volume = {12}, journal = {Nature materials}, number = {10}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {1476-1122}, doi = {10.1038/NMAT3718}, pages = {882 -- 886}, year = {2013}, abstract = {As the oldest known magnetic material, magnetite (Fe3O4) has fascinated mankind for millennia. As the first oxide in which a relationship between electrical conductivity and fluctuating/localized electronic order was shown(1), magnetite represents a model system for understanding correlated oxides in general. Nevertheless, the exact mechanism of the insulator-metal, or Verwey, transition has long remained inaccessible(2-8). Recently, three- Fe- site lattice distortions called trimeronswere identified as the characteristic building blocks of the low-temperature insulating electronically ordered phase(9). Here we investigate the Verwey transition with pump- probe X- ray diffraction and optical reflectivity techniques, and show how trimerons become mobile across the insulator-metal transition. We find this to be a two- step process. After an initial 300 fs destruction of individual trimerons, phase separation occurs on a 1.5 +/- 0.2 ps timescale to yield residual insulating and metallic regions. This work establishes the speed limit for switching in future oxide electronics(10).}, language = {en} }