arXiv subjects

Jonathan E. Spanier

Publications and source records attributed to Jonathan E. Spanier.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Field-unmasked quantum geometry in a symmetry-forbidden photocurrent

Frequency- and polarization-resolved photocurrents provide a sensitive probe of hidden symmetry and band geometry in quantum materials. Here we study a chiral cubic sillenite whose global crystal symmetry forbids a longitudinal odd-in-B magneto-photocurrent in the Voigt geometry. Nevertheless, we observe a pronounced longitudinal response across the visible range that is predominantly linear in magnetic field, persists below the band gap, and exhibits strong helicity selectivity, with the circular channel exceeding the linear one and reversing sign upon switching light helicity. We resolve this apparent contradiction by identifying defect-enabled, field-selected spin ordering as the mechanism that lowers the effective magnetic symmetry without altering the global crystal structure. First-principles calculations show that O vacancies generate in-gap bound states and localized magnetic moments on neighboring Bi-O units, stabilized by strong SOC. Although symmetry-related vacancy configurations remain energetically degenerate and preserve the macroscopic T symmetry at zero field, an applied magnetic field selects a time-reversal-broken sector of the defect ensemble and reduces the effective magnetic symmetry to the subgroup that leaves B invariant, thereby lifting the longitudinal selection rule. Importantly, this field-selected symmetry reduction does more than activate a nominally forbidden photocurrent: it unmasks latent quantum-geometric responses encoded in the electronic structure. Momentum-resolved calculations show that the dominant circular and linear magneto-photocurrent channels spatially correlate with Berry-curvature-rich and quantum-metric-rich regions of the Brillouin zone, respectively. Our results establish field-selected defect symmetry lowering as a route to revealing hidden quantum geometry and activating forbidden nonlinear photocurrents in chiral quantum materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Insights into Chemical and Structural Order at Planar Defects in a Functional Oxide Using Multislice Electron Ptychography

Switchable order parameters in ferroic materials are essential for functional electronic devices, yet disruptions of the ordering can take the form of planar boundaries or defects that exhibit distinct properties. Characterizing the structure of these boundaries is challenging due to their confined size and three-dimensional nature. Here, a chemical anti-phase boundary in the highly ordered double perovskite \ce{Pb2MgWO6} is investigated using multislice electron ptychography. The boundary is revealed to be inclined along the electron beam direction with a finite width of chemical intermixing. Additionally, regions at and near the boundary exhibit antiferroelectric-like displacements, contrasting with the predominantly paraelectric matrix. Spatial statistics and density functional theory calculations further indicate that despite their higher energy, chemical anti-phase boundaries form due to kinetic constraints during growth, with extended antiferroelectric-like distortions induced by the chemically frustrated environment in the proximity of the boundary. The three-dimensional imaging provides critical insights into the interplay between local chemistry and the polar environment, elucidating the role of anti-phase boundaries and their associated confined structural distortions and offering new opportunities for engineering ferroic thin films.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Strong Bulk Photovoltaic Effect in Planar Barium Titanate Thin Films

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPE) leads to the generation of a photocurrent from an asymmetric material. Despite drawing much attention due to its ability to generate photovoltages above the band gap ($E_g$), it is considered a weak effect due to the low generated photocurrents. Here, we show that a remarkably high photoresponse can be achieved by exploiting the BPE in simple planar BaTiO$_3$ (BTO) films, solely by tuning their fundamental ferroelectric properties via strain and growth orientation induced by epitaxial growth on different substrates. We find a non-monotonic dependence of the responsivity ($R_{\rm SC}$) on the ferroelectric polarization ($P$) and obtain a remarkably high BPE coefficient ($β$) of $\approx$10$^{-2}$ 1/V, which to the best of our knowledge is the highest reported to date for standard planar BTO thin films. We show that the standard first-principles-based descriptions of BPE in bulk materials cannot account for the photocurrent trends observed for our films and therefore propose a novel mechanism that elucidates the fundamental relationship between $P$ and responsivity in ferroelectric thin films. Our results suggest that practical applications of ferroelectric photovoltaics in standard planar film geometries can be achieved through careful joint optimization of the bulk structure, light absorption, and electrode-absorber interface properties.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Advancing from phenomenological to predictive theory of ferroelectric oxide solution properties through consideration of domain walls

Prediction of properties from composition is a fundamental goal of materials science and can greatly accelerate development of functional materials. It is particularly relevant for ferroelectric perovskite solid solutions where compositional variation is a primary tool for materials design. To advance beyond the commonly used Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire and density functional theory methods that despite their power are not predictive, we elucidate the key interactions that govern ferroelectrics using 5-atom bulk unit cells and non-ground-state defect-like ferroelectric domain walls as a simple as possible but not simpler model systems. We also develop a theory relating properties at several different length scales that provides a unified framework for the prediction of ferroelectric, antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phase stabilities and the key transition temperature, coercive field and polarization properties from composition. The elucidated physically meaningful relationships enable rapid identification of promising piezoelectric and dielectric materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

The shift photovoltaic current and magnetically-induced bulk photocurrent in piezoelectric sillenite crystals

Recently, it has been shown how shift and ballistic currents in piezoelectric sillenite crystals Bi$_{12}$GeO$_{20}$ and Bi$_{12}$SiO$_{20}$ can be separated experimentally under the assumption that the shift component of the circular current is small. However, it has been claimed that the shift and ballistic currents cannot be quantified by this method, due to the magneto-photovoltaic effect caused either by the change of the crystal's spatial symmetry in the magnetic field or by the breaking of time-reversal symmetry. Presently, we report observations of photovoltaic currents in Bi$_{12}$SiO$_{20}$, excited by linearly- and circularly-polarized light under weak external magnetic field, as well as measurements of the corresponding photo-Hall signals. We demonstrate that the magneto-photovoltaic current constitutes a significant fraction of the measured current in the Hall direction for Bi$_{12}$SiO$_{20}$ under specific experimental conditions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Reconsidering evidence of shift current in a ferroelectric charge-transfer complex

In Nakamura et al.[1], the authors present evidence of shift current in the electronic ferroelectric tetrathiafulvalene-$p$-chloranil (TTF-CA). Since the bulk photovoltaic current in non-centrosymmetric crystals has two contributions, namely the ballistic and shift, we explain why the experimental data and analysis presented by the authors does not permit unambiguous identification of shift current, and is not consistent with the mechanism of shift.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Surface- and strain-tuning of the optical dielectric function in epitaxially grown CaMnO3

We report a strong thickness dependence of the complex frequency-dependent optical dielectric function in epitaxial CaMnO3(001) thin films on SrTiO3(001), LaAlO3(001), and SrLaAlO4(001) substrates. A doubling of the peak value of the imaginary part of the dielectric function and spectral shifts of 0.5 eV for a given magnitude of absorption are observed. On the basis of the experimental data and first-principles density functional theory calculations of the dielectric function, its evolution with thickness from 4 to 63 nm has several regimes. In the thinnest, strain-coherent films, the response is characterized by a significant contribution from the free surface that dominates strain effects. However, at intermediate and larger thicknesses approaching the bulk-like film, strain coherence and partial strain relaxation persist and in influence the dielectric function.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

A Comprehensive Multiphonon Spectral Analysis in MoS2

We present a comprehensive multiphonon Raman and complementary infrared analysis for bulk and monolayer MoS2.For the bulk the analysis consists of symmetry assignment from which we obtain a broad set of allowed second order transitions at the high symmetry M,K and gamma Brillouin zone points. The attribution of about 80 transitions of up to fifth order Raman processes are proposed in the low temperature(95K)resonant Raman spectrum measured with the excitation energy of 1.96 eV,which is slightly shifted from the A exciton. We propose that the main contributions come from four phonons:A1g(M),E12g(M2),E22g(M1)(TA'(M))and E22g (M2)(LA'(M)). The last three are single degenerate phonons at M with an origin of the E12g(gamma)and E22g(gamma)phonons. Among the four phonons, we identify in the resonant Raman spectra all(but one) of the second order overtones,combination and difference bands and many of the third order bands. Consistent with the expectation that at the M point only combinations with the same inversion symmetry (g or u)are Raman allowed, the contribution of combinations with the LA(M)phonon can not be considered with the above four phonons. Although minor,contribution from K point and possibly gamma point phonons are also evident. The "2LA band",measured at ~460 cm-1 is reassigned.Supported by the striking similarity between this band, measured under off resonant conditions, and recently published two phonon density of states, we propose that the lower part of the band,previously attributed to 2LA(M),is due to a van Hove singularity between K and M. The higher part,previously attributed exclusively to the A2u(gamma)phonon,is mostly due to the LA and LA' phonons at M. For the monolayer MoS2, the second order phonon processes from M and gamma Brillouin zone points are also analyzed and are discussed within similar framework to that of the bulk.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Normal Mode Determination of Perovskite Crystal Structures with Octahedral Rotations: Theory and Applications

Nuclear site analysis methods are used to enumerate the normal modes of $ABX_{3}$ perovskite polymorphs with octahedral rotations. We provide the modes of the fourteen subgroups of the cubic aristotype describing the Glazer octahedral tilt patterns, which are obtained from rotations of the $BX_{6}$ octahedra with different sense and amplitude about high symmetry axes. We tabulate all normal modes of each tilt system and specify the contribution of each atomic species to the mode displacement pattern, elucidating the physical meaning of the symmetry unique modes. We have systematically generated 705 schematic atomic displacement patterns for the normal modes of all 15 (14 rotated + 1 unrotated) Glazer tilt systems. We show through some illustrative examples how to use these tables to identify the octahedral rotations, symmetric breathing, and first-order Jahn-Teller anti-symmetric breathing distortions of the $BX_{6}$ octahedra, and the associated Raman selection rules. We anticipate that these tables and schematics will be useful in understanding the lattice dynamics of bulk perovskites and would serve as reference point in elucidating the atomic origin of a wide range of physical properties in synthetic perovskite thin films and superlattices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗