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05:20
Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
Published on: January 26, 2014
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Opto-Mechanics Driven Fast Martensitic Transition in Two-Dimensional Materials
Jian Zhou1,2, Haowei Xu1, Yifei Li3
1Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , Massachusetts 02139 , United States.
Nano Letters
|November 7, 2018
Summary
Researchers demonstrate an ultrafast, diffusionless phase transition in 2D ferroelastic materials using laser pulses. This optomechanical martensitic transition (OMT) offers a low-energy pathway for next-generation nonvolatile memory devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Rewritable nonvolatile memory devices rely on diffusal phase-change materials like Ge-Sb-Te alloys.
- Miniaturized devices require faster speeds and lower energy consumption, driving the need for diffusionless phase-change schemes.
- Optically driven phase transitions in ultrathin materials are a promising avenue for advanced memory technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To theoretically and computationally investigate an optically driven, diffusionless phase transition in 2D ferroelastic materials.
- To explore the potential of laser pulses for ultrafast martensitic phase transitions.
- To determine the energy efficiency of this novel optomechanical martensitic transition (OMT) compared to existing technologies.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling and computational simulations were employed.
- The study was inspired by optical tweezers principles.
- The effects of a linearly polarized laser pulse on 2D ferroelastic materials (SnO and SnSe monolayers) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- A selected laser frequency can drive an ultrafast, diffusionless martensitic phase transition in SnO and SnSe monolayers.
- The transition potential energy barrier vanishes at specific laser powers (2.0 × 10^10 W/cm^2 for SnO, 7.7 × 10^9 W/cm^2 for SnSe).
- Displacive domain switching occurs within picoseconds, with energy input at least two orders of magnitude lower than Ge-Sb-Te alloys.
Conclusions:
- Optomechanical martensitic transition (OMT) offers a viable, ultrafast, and low-energy method for phase switching in 2D ferroelastic materials.
- This approach holds significant potential for developing next-generation rewritable nonvolatile memory devices.
- The unit-cell strain acting as a generalized coordinate influencing dielectric function and energy density is key to the transition.
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