Electric Analog of Magnons in Order-Disorder Ferroelectrics

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of ferrons as electric analogs of magnons in order-disorder ferroelectrics, highlighting their potential for efficient polarization transport and applications in information technology.

Contribution

It presents a microscopic pseudo-spin model demonstrating ferrons' properties and their interactions with electromagnetic radiation, revealing new insights into ferroelectric excitations.

Findings

Ferrons carry static and oscillating electric dipole moments.

Ferrons exhibit a Stark effect and can be excited by THz radiation.

Predicted long diffusion lengths enable efficient polarization transport.

Abstract

We analyze the ``ferron" excitations in order-disorder ferroelectrics by a microscopic pseudo-spin model. We demonstrate that analogous to magnons, the quanta of spin waves in magnetic materials, ferrons carry both static and oscillating electric dipole moments, exhibit a Stark effect, and may be parametrically excited by THz radiation. The anti-crossing gap of the ferron-photon hybrid depends strongly on propagation direction and an applied static electric field. We predict ferron diffusion lengths that can reach centimeters, which implies efficient transport of electric polarization by temperature gradients. These properties suggest that ferroelectric materials may be useful for information technology beyond data storage applications.