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Epsilon-near-zero regime enables permanent ultrafast all-optical reversal of ferroelectric polarization

Nature Photonics (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Strong light–matter interaction constitutes the bedrock of all photonic applications, empowering material elements with the ability to create and mediate interactions of light with light. Amidst the quest to identify new agents facilitating such efficient light–matter interactions, a class of promising materials has emerged, featuring highly unusual properties deriving from their dielectric constant ε being equal, or at least very close, to zero. Works so far have shown that the enhanced nonlinear optical effects displayed in this epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) regime make it possible to create ultrafast albeit transient optical switches. An outstanding question, however, relates to whether one could use the amplification of light–matter interactions at the ENZ conditions to achieve permanent switching. Here we demonstrate that an ultrafast excitation under ENZ conditions can induce permanent all-optical reversal of ferroelectric polarization between different stable states. Our reliance on ENZ conditions that naturally emerge from the solid’s ionic lattice suggests that the demonstrated mechanism of reversal is truly universal, being capable of permanently switching order parameters in a wide variety of systems.

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Fig. 1: Light-induced switching of polarization.
Fig. 2: Importance of satisfying the ENZ condition for switching.
Fig. 3: Schematic explanation of the switching process.

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Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information. Additional data can be obtained from the authors upon a reasonable request. Source Data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge A.K. Tagantsev for useful discussions and thank the technical staff at FELIX for providing technical support. We thank J. van Eeten for his experimental contributions. D.G.L. acknowledges funding by the Max Planck–Radboud University Center for Infrared Free Electron Laser Spectroscopy. A.K., M.K. and C.S.D. acknowledge funding by the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). C.S.D. acknowledges support from the European Research Council ERC grant agreement no. 101115234 (HandShake).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FELIX Laboratory, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

    M. Kwaaitaal, D. G. Lourens, C. S. Davies & A. Kirilyuk

  2. Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

    M. Kwaaitaal, D. G. Lourens, C. S. Davies & A. Kirilyuk

Authors
  1. M. Kwaaitaal
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  2. D. G. Lourens
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Contributions

A.K. conceived the project. M.K. and D.G.L. performed the measurements. C.S.D. assisted in building the experimental set-up. A.K, M.K and C.S.D. wrote the paper. All authors were involved in discussing the results.

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Correspondence to A. Kirilyuk.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Photonics thanks Roman Mankowsky, Vasily Temnov and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary information

Supplementary Discussion 1–7, Figs. 1–9 and References.

Supplementary Data 1–9

Source Data of supplementary files ordered by Supplementary Figure.

Source data

Source Data

Raw data of images used in Fig. 1; Fig. 2 data points of switching lengths used in graph; and code to calculate electric displacement field shown in Fig. 3c.

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Kwaaitaal, M., Lourens, D.G., Davies, C.S. et al. Epsilon-near-zero regime enables permanent ultrafast all-optical reversal of ferroelectric polarization. Nat. Photon. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-024-01420-3

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