Cooperative photoinduced metastable phase control in strained manganite films

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how strain engineering in manganite films enables ultrafast, light-induced transitions to metastable phases, revealing new pathways for dynamic control of quantum states in condensed matter systems.

Contribution

The paper introduces a method to induce and control metastable phases in manganite films using strain and optical pulses, showcasing a new approach for ultrafast phase switching.

Findings

Single optical pulses can induce long-lived metallic phases.

Transition requires a critical photon density and is cooperative.

Strain tuning enables control over emergent quantum phases.

Abstract

A major challenge in condensed matter physics is active control of quantum phases. Dynamic control with pulsed electromagnetic fields can overcome energetic barriers enabling access to transient or metastable states that are not thermally accessible. Here we demonstrate strain-engineered tuning of La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 into an emergent charge-ordered insulating phase with extreme photo-susceptibility where even a single optical pulse can initiate a transition to a long-lived metastable hidden metallic phase. Comprehensive single-shot pulsed excitation measurements demonstrate that the transition is cooperative and ultrafast, requiring a critical absorbed photon density to activate local charge excitations that mediate magnetic-lattice coupling that, in turn, stabilize the metallic phase. These results reveal that strain engineering can tune emergent functionality towards proximal macroscopic states to enable dynamic ultrafast optical phase switching and control.