Colossal Cryogenic Electro‐Optic Response Through Metastability in Strained BaTiO 3 Thin Films
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The search for thin film electro‐optic materials that can retain superior performance under cryogenic conditions has become critical for quantum computing. Barium titanate thin films show large linear electro‐optic coefficients in the tetragonal phase at room temperature, which is severely degraded down to ≈200 pm V −1 in the rhombohedral phase at cryogenic temperatures. There is immense interest in manipulating these phase transformations and retaining superior electro‐optic properties down to liquid helium temperature. Utilizing the thermodynamic theory of optical properties, a large low‐temperature electro‐optic response is designed by engineering the energetic competition between different ferroelectric phases, leading to a low‐symmetry monoclinic phase with a massive electro‐optic response. The existence of this phase is demonstrated in a strain‐tuned BaTiO 3 thin film that exhibits a linear electro‐optic coefficient of 2516 ± 100 pm V −1 at 5 K, which is an order of magnitude higher than the best reported performance thus far. Importantly, the electro‐optic coefficient increases by 100 × during cooling, unlike the conventional films, where it degrades. Further, at the lowest temperature, significant higher order electro‐optic responses also emerge. These results represent a new framework for designing materials with property enhancements by stabilizing highly tunable metastable phases with strain.
Source: Advanced Materials
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $6,070
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University, Office of Science, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University, Division of Materials Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Energy Frontier Research Centers, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Awards: G1285306620, G1292847278, G1632534962, G1643708521, G1847291448, Track 4: Advanced CI Coordination Ecosystem: Monitoring and Measurement Services, Collaborative Research: DMREF: NSF-DFG: Atoms-to-Device Closed-Loop Predictive Design of Electro-Optic Materials for Quantum Photonic Circuits, CENTER FOR 3D FERROELECTRIC MICROELECTRONICS, G241279073, G2414013413, G2515106960, G2545227643, G2604154851, G2893699457, G3262563802, G3406661761, DYNAMIC VISUALIZATION AND CONTROL OF EMERGENT PHASES IN COMPLEX OXIDE HETEROSTRUCTURES, DYNAMIC VISUALIZATION AND CONTROL OF EMERGENT PHASES IN COMPLEX OXIDE HETEROSTRUCTURES, G357145406, G415683661, G4303070870, G4368509061, G4675221972, ACO: An Open CI Ecosystem to Advance Scientific Discovery (OpenCI), G4742140246, COMPUTATIONAL MESOSCALE SCIENCE AND OPEN SOFTWARE FOR QUANTUM MATERIALS, Track 3: COre National Ecosystem for CyberinfrasTructure (CONECT), CENTER FOR 3D FERROELECTRIC MICROELECTRONICS, G5212984984, G5765906131, G6121277264, Mid-scale: Operations of the Center for High Energy X-ray Science (CHEXS), G6827444803, G6965541988, G6965887028, G7463374569, G7568170897, G7890474694, MIP: Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, and Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM), G8174472116, Track 2: Customized Multi-tier Assistance, Training, and Computational Help (MATCH) for End User ACCESS to CI, G836018179, COMPUTATIONAL MESOSCALE SCIENCE AND OPEN SOFTWARE FOR QUANTUM MATERIALS, G872144517, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), MRSEC: Center for Nanoscale Science
OpenAlex ID: W4415073404