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Transient photoinduced ‘hidden’ phase in a manganite

Nature Materials volume 10, pages 101–105 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Photoinduced phase transitions are of special interest in condensed matter physics1,2 because they can be used to change complex macroscopic material properties on the ultrafast timescale. Cooperative interactions between microscopic degrees of freedom greatly enhance the number and nature of accessible states, making it possible to switch electronic, magnetic or structural properties in new ways2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Photons with high energies, of the order of electron volts, in particular are able to access electronic states that may differ greatly from states produced with stimuli close to equilibrium10. In this study we report the photoinduced change in the lattice structure of a charge and orbitally ordered Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 thin film using picosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction. The photoinduced state is structurally ordered, homogeneous, metastable and has crystallographic parameters different from any thermodynamically accessible state. A femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopic study shows the formation of an electronic gap in this state. In addition, the threshold-like behaviour and high efficiency in photo-generation yield of this gapped state highlight the important role of cooperative interactions in the formation process. These combined observations point towards a ‘hidden insulating phase’ distinct from that found in the hitherto known phase diagram.

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Figure 1: X-ray diffraction patterns for M and CO–OO phases.
Figure 2: Photoinduced structural changes at 100 K triggered by irradiation with a 130-fs laser pulse.
Figure 3: Photoinduced spectroscopic change at 100 K triggered by irradiation with a 130-fs laser pulse.
Figure 4: Schematic illustration contrasting the orbital character of a photoinduced hidden phase with that of a thermally induced M phase converted from the initial CO–OO state (ground state).

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by Grant-in-Aids for Scientific Research from the MEXT, Japan, and the G-COE programme for chemistry in Tokyo Institute of Technology. This work was carried out with the approval of the Photon Factory Program Advisory Committee (Proposal No. 2004S1-001). The authors thank Y. Okimoto (Tokyo Institute of Technology) for fruitful discussions.

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Author notes

  1. Kouhei Ichiyanagi, Matthieu Chollet, Laurent Guerin, Hiroshi Sawa & Masao Nakamura

    Present address: Present addresses: #609(7A2) Kiban Bldg., 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa City, 277-8561, Chiba, Japan (K.I.); X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Lab., Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA (M.C.); European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP220, 38043 Grenoble, France (L.G.); Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan (H.S.); Cross-Correlated Materials Research Group (CMRG), ASI, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan (M.N.),

Authors and Affiliations

  1. JST, ERATO, Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan

    Hirohiko Ichikawa, Shunsuke Nozawa, Tokushi Sato, Ayana Tomita, Kouhei Ichiyanagi, Laurent Guerin, Shin-ichi Adachi & Shin-ya Koshihara

  2. Photon Factory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan

    Shunsuke Nozawa, Tokushi Sato, Shin-ichi Adachi & Hiroshi Sawa

  3. CREST & Department of Materials Science, JST, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan

    Tokushi Sato, Ayana Tomita, Matthieu Chollet & Shin-ya Koshihara

  4. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK

    Nicky Dean & Andrea Cavalleri

  5. Max Planck Research Group for Structural Dynamics, University of Hamburg, Center For Free Electron Laser Science, c/o Desy - Bldg.49, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany

    Andrea Cavalleri

  6. Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan

    Taka-hisa Arima

  7. JST, CREST & Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan

    Yasushi Ogimoto, Masao Nakamura, Ryo Tamaki & Kenjiro Miyano

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  1. Hirohiko Ichikawa
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Contributions

Sample preparation and optical measurements were carried out by Y.O., M.N., R.T. and K.M. H.I. planned the X-ray measurements and carried out the experiment and analysis. S.N., S-i.A., T-h.A. and H.S. planned, conducted and analysed the X-ray measurements; in addition, T.S., A.T., K.I., M.C. and L.G. assisted with the X-ray measurements. N.D. also assisted with the X-ray experiment under the supervision of A.C., as part of the G-COE student exchange program. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the manuscript. S-y.K. and K.M. initiated and oversaw the work.

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Correspondence to Shin-ya Koshihara.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Ichikawa, H., Nozawa, S., Sato, T. et al. Transient photoinduced ‘hidden’ phase in a manganite. Nature Mater 10, 101–105 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2929

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