Abstract
Transition metal oxides with a perovskite crystal structure exhibit a variety of physical properties associated with the lattice. Among these materials, strontium ruthenate (SrRuO3) displays unusually strong coupling of charge, spin and lattice degrees of freedom that can give rise to the photostriction, that is, changes in the dimensions of material due to the absorption of light. In this study, we observe a photon-induced strain as high as 1.12% in single domain SrRuO3, which we attribute to a nonequilibrium of phonons that are a result of the strong interaction between the crystalline lattice and electrons excited by light. In addition, these light-induced changes in the SrRuO3 lattice affect its electrical resistance. The observation of both photostriction and photoresistance in SrRuO3 suggests the possibility of utilizing the mechanical and optical functionalities of the material for next-generation optoelectronics, such as remote switches, light-controlled elastic micromotors, microactuators and other optomechanical systems.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 24 2017 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledgements: We are especially grateful to Ching-Cheng Chuang and Chia-Yen Lee from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, and Department of Electrical Engineering, National United University, for their contribution in the noncontact temperature measurements.