image: Image shows that the femtosecond (10^-15 seconds) laser pulses can be used to change the electronic properties of materials so that they transiently behave as if they have been chemically doped. These changes are recorded in the femtosecond electron crystallography pattern (right). Varying the intensities of the laser pulses, the conditions for the emergence of metastable and hidden phases (as labeled in C-CDW, T, NC, and NC*) can be rapidly surveyed via the method stated above to construct a comprehensive phase diagram (upper-left) without the confounding effects frequently associated with chemical doping. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the June 26, 2015, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by T.-R.T. Han at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI and colleagues was titled, 'Exploration of metastability and hidden phases in correlated electron crystals visualized by femtosecond optical doping and electron crystallography.' view more
Credit: [Credit: Faran Zhou and Chong-Yu Ruan]