Science Daily March 18, 2019
A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) has shown that atomic-scale PbTiO3/SrTiO3 superlattices, counterpoising strain and polarization states in alternate layers, are converted by sub-picosecond optical pulses to a supercrystal phase. This phase persists indefinitely under ambient conditions, has not been created via equilibrium routes, and can be erased by heating. By adjusting only dielectric properties, the phase-field model describes this emergent phase as a photo-induced charge-stabilized supercrystal formed from a two-phase equilibrium state. The research has implications for future realization of artificial nanomaterials that are not achievable by traditional fabrication… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
A 3D image of a supercrystal from phase-field simulations using the software ?-PRO. Credit: L-Q Chen Group, Penn State