Researchers have demonstrated an infrared technique to map and analyze strain in atomically thin crystals of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) at the nanoscale. This ultrasensitive strain-imaging method could be a promising tool for the examination of low-dimensional materials of interest for electronic and photonic devices. Read more »
Tuning Material Properties with Laser Light
Researchers demonstrated that coupled electronic and magnetic properties in a material can be repeatably tuned using laser light. The results suggest the possibility of creating microelectronic devices that use a laser beam to erase and rewrite bits of information in materials engineered for random-access memory and data storage. Read more »
Linking Structure to Behavior in Twisted Liquid Crystals
Researchers untangled connections between structure and behavior in a class of liquid crystals consisting of flexible, chain-like molecules that self-organize into twisting patterns. The study opens up new possibilities for designing novel liquid-crystal molecules that allow greater control of nanoscale behavior for technological applications. Read more »
Mineral Discovery Made Easier: X-Ray Technique Shines a New Light on Tiny, Rare Crystals
Like a tiny needle in a sprawling hayfield, a single crystal grain measuring just tens of millionths of a meter— found in a borehole sample drilled in Central Siberia—had an unexpected chemical makeup. And a specialized x-ray technique in use at the ALS confirmed the sample’s uniqueness and paved the way for its formal recognition as a newly discovered mineral: ognitite. Read more »
A Crackling Analysis of Stripe and Skyrmion Phases
Through statistical analysis of “crackling” (a system’s jerky response to slowly changing conditions), researchers demonstrated fundamental differences between skyrmion and stripe phases in a layered heterostructure. The method has broad applicability to many complex materials of interest for emerging information technologies. 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 »
Heliconical-layered nanocylinders (HLNCs) – hierarchical self-assembly in a unique B4 phase liquid crystal morphology
Morphology is of critical importance for molecular crystals, drug molecules, alloys, and elements in the periodic table. We here demonstrate how very subtle structural changes in a set of bent-core liquid crystals lead to rather complex hierarchical superstructures driven by changes in molecular conformation. 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 »
Infrared Light Reveals Microstripes at Insulator-Metal Transition
In this study of a current-driven insulator-to-metal transition, a distinctive stripe pattern develops between the insulating and metallic phases. The work reveals remarkable new features of electrically induced insulator-to-metal transitions in materials with potential applications in energy-efficient memory and transistor devices. 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 »
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