Subterahertz collective dynamics of polar vortices

Li, Qian; Stoica, Vladimir A.; Paściak, Marek; Zhu, Yi; Yuan, Yakun; Yang, Tiannan; McCarter, Margaret R.; Das, Sujit; Yadav, Ajay K.; Park, Suji; Dai, Cheng; Lee, Hyeon Jun; Ahn, Youngjun; Marks, Samuel D.; Yu, Shukai; Kadlec, Christelle; Sato, Takahiro; Hoffmann, Matthias C.; Chollet, Matthieu; Kozina, Michael E.; Nelson, Silke; Zhu, Diling; Walko, Donald A.; Lindenberg, Aaron M.; Evans, Paul G.; Chen, Long-Qing; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Martin, Lane W.; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Freeland, John W.; Hlinka, Jirka; Wen, Haidan

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03342-4

Subterahertz collective dynamics of polar vortices

Journal Article · Wed Apr 14 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Nature (London)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03342-4· OSTI ID:1806299

^[1]; ^[2]; Paściak, Marek ^[3]; Zhu, Yi ^[4]; Yuan, Yakun ^[5]; ^[5]; McCarter, Margaret R. ^[6]; ^[6]; Yadav, Ajay K. ^[6]; Park, Suji ^[7]; Dai, Cheng ^[5]; ^[8]; Ahn, Youngjun ^[8]; Marks, Samuel D. ^[8]; Yu, Shukai ^[5]; ^[3]; Sato, Takahiro ^[7]; ^[7]; Chollet, Matthieu ^[7]; Kozina, Michael E. ^[7] more »

Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Penn State University
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic)
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

The collective dynamics of topological structures are of interest from both fundamental and applied perspectives. For example, studies of dynamical properties of magnetic vortices and skyrmions have not only deepened our understanding of many-body physics but also offered potential applications in data processing and storage. Topological structures constructed from electrical polarization, rather than electron spin, have recently been realized in ferroelectric superlattices, and these are promising for ultrafast electric-field control of topological orders. However, little is known about the dynamics underlying the functionality of such complex extended nanostructures. In this study, using terahertz-field excitation and femtosecond X-ray diffraction measurements, we observe ultrafast collective polarization dynamics that are unique to polar vortices, with orders-of-magnitude higher frequencies and smaller lateral size than those of experimentally realized magnetic vortices. A previously unseen tunable mode, hereafter referred to as a vortexon, emerges in the form of transient arrays of nanoscale circular patterns of atomic displacements, which reverse their vorticity on picosecond timescales. Its frequency is considerably reduced (softened) at a critical strain, indicating a condensation (freezing) of structural dynamics. We use first-principles-based atomistic calculations and phase-field modelling to reveal the microscopic atomic arrangements and corroborate the frequencies of the vortex modes. The discovery of subterahertz collective dynamics in polar vortices opens opportunities for electric-field-driven data processing in topological structures with ultrahigh speed and density.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; Czech Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012375; FG02-04ER46147; AC02-06CH11357; AC02-76SF00515; SC0014664; SC0020145

OSTI ID:: 1806299

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1810332
OSTI ID: 1880841

Journal Information:: Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 7854 Vol. 592; ISSN 0028-0836

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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