Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
06:24
High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
6.5K
Reversible Phase Transition between Vortex Lattice and Hexagonal Polar Skyrmion Crystals
Zhiyang Wang1, Long-Qing Chen1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
Nano Letters
|October 26, 2023
Summary
Researchers observed hexagonal polar skyrmion crystals in oxide superlattices. These polar skyrmions (PSkC) exhibit transitions controllable by external fields, paving the way for novel electronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Polar skyrmions in oxide heterostructures are of significant interest due to their unique physical properties and potential applications.
- Oxide superlattices offer a promising platform for exploring exotic electronic phases and emergent phenomena.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation and characteristics of polar skyrmion crystals in lead titanate/strontium titanate (PTO/STO) superlattices.
- To explore the influence of external electric fields on the topological phase transitions within these materials.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of PbTiO3/SrTiO3 (PTO/STO) superlattices.
- Application of external electric fields to induce phase transitions.
- Characterization of the resulting vortex lattice and polar skyrmion crystal phases.
Main Results:
- Successful formation of nanoscale polar skyrmion crystals with two-dimensional hexagonal symmetry in PTO/STO superlattices.
- Observation of a phase transition from a vortex lattice to hexagonal polar skyrmion crystals (PSkC) under an increasing external field.
- Construction of a temperature-electric field topological phase diagram showing wide stabilization ranges for both phases.
Conclusions:
- The study demonstrates the controllable formation and manipulation of polar skyrmion crystals and vortex lattices in oxide superlattices.
- The findings highlight the potential for utilizing external fields to tune topological phase transitions and long-range order in advanced materials.
- This research opens avenues for developing novel electronic devices based on controlled topological phenomena.
More Related Videos
06:26Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
7.2K
08:55Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
8.6K
Related Concept Videos
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
12.4K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
12.4K
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
17.6K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase...
17.6K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
17.2K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
17.2K
02:31Phase Transitions
19.1K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
19.1K
01:19Phase Diagram
5.9K
The phase of a given substance depends on the pressure and temperature. Thus, plots of pressure versus temperature showing the phase in each region provide considerable insights into the thermal properties of substances. Such plots are known as phase diagrams. For instance, in the phase diagram for water (Figure 1), the solid curve boundaries between the phases indicate phase transitions (i.e., temperatures and pressures at which the phases coexist).
5.9K
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
26.6K
Crystal Field Theory
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
26.6K