Based on the giant persistent photoconductivity (GPPC)
characteristic
of VO2, we report a remote-control switch that allows high-speed
switching on/off functionality. The switch, composed of two VO2 film devices connected in parallel and two semiconductor
lasers, can operate multiple electrical devices at near room temperature.
The estimated switching-on (off) time of the remote switch is 73 μs
(64 μs) with laser intensity of 1.1 × 107 W/m2 at the ambient temperature of 30 °C. The switching-on/off
mechanisms can be understood by alternative generation of GPPC at
the parallelly connected VO2 devices and the current division
rule. Our high-speed remote VO2 switch can be applied to
many diverse electronic devices such as safety switches, optical computing,
and sensors.