Laser Driven Bulk-to-Layered Phase Transition

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Liu, Shuang, Cohen, Oren, Neufeld, Ofer, Chen, Peng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Liu, Shuang
Cohen, Oren
Neufeld, Ofer
Chen, Peng
author_facet Liu, Shuang
Cohen, Oren
Neufeld, Ofer
Chen, Peng
contents Laser-induced phase transitions offer pathways of phase transitions that are inaccessible by conventional stimuli. In this study, we conduct ab initio simulations to numerically demonstrate a novel laser-induced structural transformation: converting a bulk crystal into a layered van der Waals material using intense light pulses. The transition is driven by a nonlinear phononic mechanism, where selectively exciting polar and anti-polar phonon modes with polarized terahertz light breaks targeted interlayer bonds while preserving intralayer ones. We identify that strong anisotropy in bond sensitivity where interlayer bonds are significantly more susceptible to excitation than intralayer bonds is the critical prerequisite. Our findings pave the way for on demand transformations from bulk to 2D materials, facilitate the design of advanced phase-change devices, and suggest a potential optical exfoliation method to expand the range of exfoliable 2D materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_04544
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Laser Driven Bulk-to-Layered Phase Transition
Liu, Shuang
Cohen, Oren
Neufeld, Ofer
Chen, Peng
Optics
Laser-induced phase transitions offer pathways of phase transitions that are inaccessible by conventional stimuli. In this study, we conduct ab initio simulations to numerically demonstrate a novel laser-induced structural transformation: converting a bulk crystal into a layered van der Waals material using intense light pulses. The transition is driven by a nonlinear phononic mechanism, where selectively exciting polar and anti-polar phonon modes with polarized terahertz light breaks targeted interlayer bonds while preserving intralayer ones. We identify that strong anisotropy in bond sensitivity where interlayer bonds are significantly more susceptible to excitation than intralayer bonds is the critical prerequisite. Our findings pave the way for on demand transformations from bulk to 2D materials, facilitate the design of advanced phase-change devices, and suggest a potential optical exfoliation method to expand the range of exfoliable 2D materials.
title Laser Driven Bulk-to-Layered Phase Transition
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.04544