Exploration of metastability and hidden phases in correlated electron crystals visualized by femtosecond optical
Tzong-Ru T Han1, Faran Zhou1, Christos D Malliakas2
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Abstract:
Characterizing and understanding the emergence of multiple macroscopically ordered electronic phases through subtle tuning of temperature, pressure, and chemical doping has been a long-standing central issue for complex materials research. We report the first comprehensive studies of optical doping-induced emergence of stable phases and metastable hidden phases visualized in situ by femtosecond electron crystallography. The electronic phase transitions are triggered by femtosecond infrared pulses, and a temperature-optical density phase diagram is constructed and substantiated with the dynamics of metastable states, highlighting the cooperation and competition through which the macroscopic quantum orders emerge. These results elucidate key pathways of femtosecond electronic switching phenomena and provide an important new avenue to comprehensively investigate optical doping-induced transition states and phase diagrams of complex materials with wide-ranging applications.
More Related Videos
09:09Preparation and Delivery of Protein Microcrystals in Lipidic Cubic Phase for Serial Femtosecond Crystallography
Published on: September 20, 2016
09:23Assessing Two-dimensional Crystallization Trials of Small Membrane Proteins for Structural Biology Studies by Electron Crystallography
Published on: October 29, 2010
Related Concept Videos
02:18X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
01:24Electron Carriers
Over the many stages of cellular respiration, glucose breaks down into carbon dioxide and water. Electron carriers pick up electrons lost by glucose in these reactions, temporarily storing and releasing them into the electron...
03:07Electron Affinity
00:54Electron Behavior
Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles that are attracted to an orbit around the positively-charged nucleus of an atom. They reside in locations that are associated with energy levels called shells and are further organized into sub-shells and orbitals within each shell.
Electrons Orbit the Nucleus
Electrons are found in specific locations outside of the nucleus. The shell in which an electron resides indicates the general energy level of the electron: those closer to the...
01:09Electron Behavior
Electrons Orbit the Nucleus
Electrons are found in specific locations outside of the nucleus. The shell in which an electron resides indicates the general energy level of the electron: those closer to the nucleus have less energy,...
02:48Ionic Bonding and Electron Transfer