journal article·2026-05Open access

Transient Terahertz Oscillations During Photoinduced Polarization Topology Reconfiguration in Ferroelectric Superlattices

Deepankar Sri Gyan, Hyeon Jun Lee, Xiangwei Guo, Youngjun Ahn, Samuel D. Marks, Mohammed H. Yusuf, Matthew Dawber, James M. Glownia, Diling Zhu, Takahiro Sato, Sanghoon Song, Haidan Wen, Jia‐Mian Hu, Paul G. Evans

Advanced Science· Volume 13· Issue 30

Abstract

ABSTRACT Terahertz resonances embedded in crystalline heterostructures could close a spectral gap between conventional electronics and photonics while opening new windows on phenomena in non‐equilibrium lattice dynamics. We show that femtosecond optical screening of the depolarization field in epitaxial PbTiO 3 /SrTiO 3 superlattices launches a collective polar mode that oscillates near 1 THz and coherently spans the entire mini‐Brillouin zone. Wave‐vector‐resolved pump–probe X‐ray diffraction resolves a nearly dispersion‐less oscillation at 0.87 and 0.94 THz at the zone boundary and zone center, respectively, persisting for ∼2.5 ps, corresponding to a weakly damped resonance. Dynamical phase‐field simulations reveal the origin of the mode to mesoscopic rotation of closure‐domain textures during the photoexcited transition from an unscreened to a screened electrostatic state. Varying the PbTiO 3 and SrTiO 3 ratio tunes the mode frequency continuously from 0.9 to 1.4 THz, providing a quantitative design rule for frequency‐selectable THz oscillators in ferroelectric heterostructures. By coupling nanoscale polarization reconfiguration to long‐wavelength coherent dynamics, this work establishes depolarization‐field engineering to topology‐driven THz functionality and expanding the landscape of collective lattice dynamics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials · Topological Materials and Phenomena · Nonlinear Photonic Systems

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Wisconsin‐Madison Madison Wisconsin USA

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Kangwon National University Samcheok South Korea

Materials Science Division Argonne National Laboratory Lemont Illinois USA

Department of Physics and Astronomy Stony Brook University Stony Brook New York USA

Department of Physics University of Vermont Burlington Vermont USA

Linac Coherent Light Source SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Menlo Park California USA

X‐ray Science Division Argonne National Laboratory Lemont Illinois USA

Funding

National Science Foundation

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