Large non-thermal contribution to picosecond strain pulse generation using the photo-induced phase transition in VO2
| Autor: | Anthony J. Kent, A. V. Akimov, Iaroslav A. Mogunov, Anatolii E. Fedianin, Félix E. Fernández, Alexandra M. Kalashnikova, Sergiy Lysenko, Armando Rúa |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Phase transition
Materials science Science General Physics and Astronomy 02 engineering and technology 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology law.invention Thermoelastic damping law 0103 physical sciences 010306 general physics Multidisciplinary business.industry digestive oral and skin physiology fungi food and beverages General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Laser Piezoelectricity Picosecond Femtosecond Optoelectronics 0210 nano-technology business Ultrashort pulse Excitation |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2020) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | Picosecond strain pulses are a versatile tool for investigation of mechanical properties of meso- and nano-scale objects with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Generation of such pulses is traditionally realized via ultrafast laser excitation of a light-to-strain transducer involving thermoelastic, deformation potential, or inverse piezoelectric effects. These approaches unavoidably lead to heat dissipation and a temperature rise, which can modify delicate specimens, like biological tissues, and ultimately destroy the transducer itself limiting the amplitude of generated picosecond strain. Here we propose a non-thermal mechanism for generating picosecond strain pulses via ultrafast photo-induced first-order phase transitions (PIPTs). We perform experiments on vanadium dioxide VO2 films, which exhibit a first-order PIPT accompanied by a lattice change. We demonstrate that during femtosecond optical excitation of VO2 the PIPT alone contributes to ultrafast expansion of this material as large as 0.45%, which is not accompanied by heat dissipation, and, for excitation density of 8 mJ cm−2, exceeds the contribution from thermoelastic effect by a factor of five. Ultrafast driving of vanadium dioxide can induce a large structural phase transition, which can be used to generate picosecond strain pulses. Here the authors show that the photo-induced phase transition can contribute 0.45% strain without causing undesirable heating. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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