Ultrafast Photoinduced Electric-Polarization Switching in a Hydrogen-Bonded Ferroelectric Crystal.
Croconic acid crystals show proton displacive-type ferroelectricity with a large spontaneous polarization reaching 20  μC/cm^{2}, which originates from the strong coupling of proton and π-electron degrees of freedom. Such a coupling makes us expect a large polarization change by photoirradiations. Optical-pump second-harmonic-generation-probe experiments reveal that a photoexcited croconic-acid crystal loses the ferroelectricity substantially with a maximum quantum efficiency of more than 30 molecules per one absorbed photon. Based on density functional calculations, we theoretically discuss possible pathways toward the formation of a one-dimensional domain with polarization inversion and its recovery process to the ground state by referring to the dynamics of experimentally obtained polarization changes.
Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan.
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K
Iwano
Research Center for Computational Design of Advanced Functional Materials, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
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Y
Shimoi
Department of Advanced Materials Science, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.
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T
Miyamoto
Department of Advanced Materials Science, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.
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D
Hata
Department of Advanced Materials Science, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.
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M
Sotome
Department of Advanced Materials Science, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.
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N
Kida
Flexible Electronics Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
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S
Horiuchi
Department of Advanced Materials Science, University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.|AIST-UTokyo Advanced Operando-Measurement Technology Open Innovation Laboratory (OPERANDO-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Chiba 277-8568, Japan.
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Okamoto