Ni Li, Hyeon Jun Lee, Deepankar Sri Gyan, Youngjun Ahn, Eric C Landahl, Jerome Carnis, Jun Young Lee, Tae Yeon Kim, Sanjith Unithrattil, Ji Young Jo, Sae Hwan Chun, Sunam Kim, Sang-Youn Park, Intae Eom, Carolina Adamo, Sabrina J Li, Jeffrey Z Kaaret, Darrell G Schlom, Haidan Wen, Nicole A Benedek, Paul G Evans
The functional properties of complex oxides, including magnetism and ferroelectricity, are closely linked to subtle structural distortions. Ultrafast optical excitations provide the means to manipulate structural features and ultimately to affect the functional properties of complex oxides with picosecond-scale precision. We report that the lattice expansion of multiferroic BiFeO3 following above-bandgap optical excitation leads to distortion of the oxygen octahedral rotation (OOR) pattern. The continuous coupling between OOR and strain was probed using time-resolved X-ray free-electron laser diffraction with femtosecond time resolution...
May 6, 2024: Nano Letters