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Opportunities in nanoscale probing of laser-driven phase transitions

Nature Physics volume 20, pages 1383–1388 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

For several decades, optical near-field microscopy has facilitated pioneering investigations of photonic excitations at the nanoscale. In recent years, near-field microscopy of terahertz fields has emerged as an important tool for experiments involving phononic and electronic phenomena, rich spatiotemporal dynamics and highly nonlinear processes. Building on this foundation, this Perspective elucidates the transformative opportunities provided by terahertz near-field microscopy to probe ultrafast phase transitions, helping to tackle previously inaccessible challenges of condensed matter physics. Laser-driven phase transitions in many systems are accompanied by the generation of terahertz pulses with spatiotemporal features governed by the complex physics underlying the phase transition. The characterization of these emitted pulses using terahertz near-field microscopy techniques could therefore support the investigation of ultrafast phase transition dynamics. This approach could, for example, allow the observation of ultrafast topological transitions in quantum materials, showcasing its ability to clarify the dynamic processes underlying phase changes.

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Fig. 1: Emission of an electromagnetic pulse following an abrupt light-induced phase transition.
Fig. 2: Comparing near-field and far-field terahertz emission experiments.
Fig. 3: Tip-based experiments for time-resolved nanoscale imaging of terahertz fields.
Fig. 4: Free-electron-based experiments for time-resolved nanoscale imaging of terahertz emission.

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Acknowledgements

M.Y. is partially supported by the VATAT Quantum Science and Technology scholarship. D.N.B. is supported by DOE-BES grant number DE-SC0018426.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 851780-ERC-NanoEp, and No 101101048-ERC-POC.

N.R. acknowledges the support of a Junior Fellowship from the Harvard Society of Fellows.

This research is supported by the ADAMS fellowships program of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Michael Yannai, Matan Haller, Ron Ruimy.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Michael Yannai, Matan Haller, Ron Ruimy, Alexey Gorlach & Ido Kaminer

  2. Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Nicholas Rivera

  3. Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Dmitri N. Basov

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Yannai, M., Haller, M., Ruimy, R. et al. Opportunities in nanoscale probing of laser-driven phase transitions. Nat. Phys. 20, 1383–1388 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02603-z

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