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Tailoring microstructures represents a daunting goal in materials science. Here, an innovative proposition is to utilize grain boundary (GB) complexions (a.k.a. interfacial phases) to manipulate microstructural evolution, which is…
Multifunctionality as a paradigm requires materials exhibiting multiple superior properties. Integrating second-order optical nonlinearity and large bandgap with piezoelectricity could, for example, enable broadband, strain-tunable…
Birefringent materials or nanostructures that introduce phase differences between two linear polarizations underpin the operation of wave plates for polarization control of light. Here we develop metasurfaces realizing a distinct class of…
Strong-field methods in solids enable new strategies for ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy and provide all-optical insights into the electronic properties of condensed matter in reciprocal and real space. Additionally, solid-state media…
The oxide heterostructure [(YFeO$_3$)$_5$(LaFeO$_3$)$_5$]$_{40}$, which is magnetically ordered and piezoelectric at room temperature, has been constructed from two weak ferromagnetic AFeO$_3$ perovskites with different A cations using…
Chirality is a pervasive form of symmetry that is intimately connected to the physical properties of solids, as well as the chemical and biological activity of molecular systems. However, its control with light is challenging, because…
First principle calculations are performed to investigate the effect of polar order strength on the thermoelectric (TE) properties of GeTe alloy in its rhombohedral structure. The variation in the polarization state using various…
Low dimensional structures comprised of ferroelectric (FE) PbTiO$_3$ (PTO) and quantum paraelectric SrTiO$_3$ (STO) are hosts to complex polarization textures such as polar waves, flux-closure domains and polar skyrmion phases. Density…
Nonlinear optical phenomena are generally governed by geometry in matter systems, as they depend on the spatial arrangement of atoms within materials or molecules. Metasurfaces, through precisely designed geometries on a subwavelength…
Inversion symmetry breaking is a ubiquitous concept in condensed-matter science. On the one hand, it is a prerequisite for many technologically relevant effects such as piezoelectricity, photovoltaic and nonlinear optical properties and…
A crystalline solid is a periodic sequence of identical cells, each containing one or more atoms. If the constituting unit cell is not centrosymmetric, charge may distribute unevenly between the atoms, resulting in internal electric…
We demonstrate a concept for post-growth symmetry control in oxide heterostructures. A functional oxide is sandwiched between two ferroelectric layers and inversion symmetry at the position of the oxide constituent is reversibly switched on…
The nonlinear shift current, also known as the bulk photovoltaic current generated by linearly polarized light, has long been known to be absent in crystals with inversion symmetry. Here we argue that a non-zero shift current in…
Polar crystal surfaces play an important role in the functionality of many materials, and have been studied extensively over many decades. In this article, a theoretical framework is presented that extends existing theories by placing the…
Polar metals are an underexplored material class combining two properties that are typically incompatible, namely a polar crystal structure and reasonable electrical conductivity. These intriguing materials offer a unique combination of…
Two-dimensional charge carrier accumulation at oxide heterointerfaces presents a paradigm shift for oxide electronics. Like a capacitor, interfacial charge buildup couples to an electric field across the dielectric medium. To prevent the…
Structural phase transitions often couple to magnetic and electronic degrees of freedom, enabling emergent phenomena in solids. In high-entropy oxides (HEOs), which typically stabilize in highly symmetric cubic phases, such transitions are…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking underlies much of our classification of phases of matter and their associated transitions. The nature of the underlying symmetry being broken determines many of the qualitative properties of the phase; this is…
Conversion of mechanical forces to electric signal is possible in non-centrosymmetric materials due to linear piezoelectricity. The extraordinary mechanical properties of two-dimensional materials and their high crystallinity make them…
Defect engineering is an effective and powerful tool to control existing material properties and create completely new ones, which are symmetry-forbidden in a defect-free crystal. This letter reports on the creation of piezoelectrically…