Good Vibrations: Using Terahertz Radiation to Control Material Properties

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A manganite crystal (Pr0.7 Ca0.3 MnO3 ) was distorted by Berkeley Lab researchers through the selective excitation of a single vibrational mode in the crystal. Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A manganite crystal (Pr_0.7 Ca_0.3 MnO_3 ) was distorted by Berkeley Lab researchers through the selective excitation of a single vibrational mode in the crystal. Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A collaboration led by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has used molecular vibrations, triggered by ultrafast pulses of terahertz radiation, to change a manganite crystal from an electrical insulator into a conductor. The ability to induce dramatic phase-changes in solid materials through select vibrations holds great promise for future exploitation of prized technological phenomena such as superconductivity and magnetoresistance.


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