Researchers showed that hafnium oxide surprisingly exhibits enhanced ferroelectricity (reversible electric polarization) as it gets thinner. The work shifts the focus of ferroelectric studies from more complex, problematic compounds to a simpler class of materials and opens the door to novel ultrasmall, energy-efficient electronics. Read more »
Anomalous Orbital Structure in Two-Dimensional Materials
Researchers explored how structural distortions of the atomic lattice influence exotic electronic states in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Polarization-dependent spectroscopy revealed an unexpectedly large crystal-field splitting of the valence electron states, a result of strong hybridization in metal–chalcogen orbitals. Read more »
Padraic Shafer to Receive the 2019 Shirley Award
Congratulations to Padraic Shafer, this year’s recipient of the Shirley Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement! Shafer, ALS staff scientist and leader of the ALS’s dichroism program, is being recognized “for unveiling the nature of chiral quantum materials through the innovative use of x-ray scattering at the Advanced Light Source.” Read more »
Controlling Spin in Antiferromagnetic Nanostructures
Researchers discovered that the spin configuration of a nanostructured antiferromagnetic material can be affected by the dimensions of features imprinted onto the material. The results suggest that nanoscale patterning can be a viable tool for engineering spin configurations in future antiferromagnetic spintronic devices. Read more » 
Electric Dipoles Form Chiral Skyrmions
Researchers demonstrated that polar skyrmions—cousins of magnetic skyrmions but comprising swirls of electric dipoles instead of spins—exhibit chirality in a material with electrically switchable properties. Control of such phenomena could one day lead to low-power, nonvolatile data storage as well as to high-performance computers. Read more »
Superconductor Exhibits “Glassy” Electronic Phase
Researchers discovered that electrons in a high-temperature superconductor can exhibit a new type of collective behavior that is more “glassy” (disordered) than expected. The study provides valuable insight into the nature of collective electron behaviors and how they relate to high-temperature superconductivity. Read more »
Electric Skyrmions Charge Ahead for Next-Generation Data Storage
Researchers have observed chirality for the first time in polar skyrmions in a material with reversible electrical properties. The combination of polar skyrmions and these electrical properties could one day lead to applications such as more powerful data storage devices that hold information even after a device has been powered off. Read more »
Oxygen Vacancies Matter in the LaNiO3 Metal–Insulator Transition
Electronic structure measurements using x-ray absorption spectroscopy suggest that oxygen vacancies contribute to the metal–insulator transition in ultrathin films of LaNiO3. The results give scientists another “knob” to turn to tune this important transition, which could be useful for making advanced electronic devices. Read more »
A Designed Material Untangles Long-Standing Puzzle
The origin of the metal-to-insulator transition in a key material system was revealed by nanostructures designed to decouple simultaneous phase transitions. This approach could lead to new materials with emergent physics and unique electronic properties, supporting broader research efforts to revolutionize modern electronics. Read more »
X-Ray Handedness Reveals Handedness of Electronic Vortices
Electronic vortex structures have been found to emerge from engineered samples of alternating complex-oxide layers. Resonant soft x-ray diffraction (RSXD) studies using circularly polarized x-rays revealed the vortices’ left- and right-handedness. The intriguing results open the door to electrically controllable chiral devices. Read more »
