Physicists discover light-induced mechanism for controlling ferroelectric polarization

Physicists from the University of Arkansas discovered a surprising mechanism for controlling ferroelectric polarization by applying light.

The application of ultrafast laserpulses made possible the finding that improves fundamental physics research by understanding the interactions between light and matter.

The research published May 10 in Nature Communications is an important step towards the design and development of superior sensor and data storage in electronic devices.

ferroelectric materials have the ability to polarize. Researchers can use an external electric field to reverse the polarization. Ultrafast interactions between light and matter are a promising route for controlling ferroelectric polarization, but until now researchers have struggled to achieve a light-induced, deterministic control of such polarization.

The researchers discovered a so-called &squeezing effect& in ferroelectric materials. A second is one quadrillionth of a second. The components of the field that are parallel to the direction of the field were destroyed. The squeezing effect allowed a control of the light's intensity.

The applied terahertz pulse prefers to destroy the polarization component along the field's direction, in favor of components that correspond to the field associated with the pulse, according to a research associate in the laboratory. Technical progress should be stimulated by our findings.

The physicists collaborated with colleagues Charles Paillard and Hongjian Zhao, as well as former research associates of theirs, at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology. Various properties of different materials are studied by researchers.

More information: Peng Chen et al, Deterministic control of ferroelectric polarization by ultrafast laser pulses, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30324-5 Journal information: Nature Communications Citation: Physicists discover light-induced mechanism for controlling ferroelectric polarization (2022, May 10) retrieved 10 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-physicists-light-induced-mechanism-ferroelectric-polarization.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.