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Excitons Dance the Two-Step in a 2D Material

Excitonic insulators are a rare form of macroscopic quantum state that can be realized at a high temperature, which can be useful for quantum information science. At the ALS, researchers found that in a 2D material, a novel two-step “folding” behavior in the ARPES data signals the existence of an intermediate exciton gas state. Read more »

Chiral Twists and Turns Lead Way to New Materials

Researchers found that, in crystals with structural chirality (left- or right-handedness), tuning the electronic behavior reveals hidden chiral phases and singularities. The results provide a new way to predict, test, and manipulate novel materials that exhibit desirable properties for next-generation electronic and spintronic devices. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Spiraling Beams Differentiate Antiferromagnetic States

Using spiraling x-ray beams, researchers differentiated between energetically equivalent (“degenerate”) states in an antiferromagnetic lattice. The work shows the potential of these beams to probe properties that would otherwise be inaccessible, to better understand phenomena of fundamental interest and for applications such as spintronics. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Probing Walls between Electrically Polarized Domains

Researchers used infrared light to investigate the properties of the domain walls that separate electrically polarized (ferroelectric) regions in a rare-earth ferrite material. An understanding of domain-wall behavior is relevant to the development of advanced logic and memory applications for ultralow-power digital devices. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Raman and Far-Infrared Synchrotron Nanospectroscopy of Layered Crystalline Talc: Vibrational Properties, Interlayer Coupling, and Symmetry Crossover

Talc is an electrical insulator and an excellent target for low-cost, heterostructure-based optoelectronic applications. Here, light-matter interactions and their consequences at the nanoscale-thickness limit are probed using Raman spectroscopy, near-field synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. Read more »

Doped Nickelate Enters a New Phase with Spintronics Potential

Rare-earth nickelates are known to undergo a metal-to-insulator phase transition as temperature decreases, the mechanism of which is not well understood. Here, researchers observed a new low-temperature phase that’s both metallic and antiferromagnetic—an unusual combination with potential value in spintronics. Read more »

Intrinsically Chiral Twist-Bend Nematogens: Interplay of Molecular and Structural Chirality in the NTB Phase

Cartoon depiction of the formation of the heliconical chiral twist-bend nematic phase (N*TB) from its constituent bent molecules. The presence of a single enantiomer of the chiral, lactate-based liquid crystal dimers biases the formation of helices with only one handedness, unlike in the conventional NTB phase, observed for achiral molecules, for which the left- and right-handed helices are doubly degenerate. Read more »

Under Pressure, Gold Nanoclusters Reveal Structure-Property Relationship

Metal nanoclusters have unusual optical properties that are of interest for fundamental reasons as well as for applications like diagnostic imaging and 3D printing. To better understand how nanocluster structure relates to optical properties, researchers performed high-pressure diffraction studies on single crystals of gold nanoclusters. Read more »

A 2D Electron Liquid Floats on a Crystal Surface

Researchers discovered a liquid-like layer of electrons that floats on the surface of an unusual crystal and appears to undergo a phase transition upon doping. The system is an ideal platform for studying exotic phenomena involving electrons (e.g. superconductivity) without complications arising from other types of interactions. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35