Ultra-high THz-field-confinement at LaAlO₃ twin walls.
7 affiliations
- 1Institute of Applied Physics, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
- 2Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence (EXC2147) ctd.qmat - Complexity, Topology, and Dynamics in Quantum Matter, Dresden, Germany.
- 3University of Geneva, Department of Quantum Matter Physics (DQMP), Geneva, Switzerland. [email protected].
- 4University of Geneva, Department of Quantum Matter Physics (DQMP), Geneva, Switzerland.
- 5Institute of Radiation Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany.
- 6Advanced Light Source (ALS), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- 7Institute of Applied Physics, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany. [email protected].
Abstract
The control and steering of light at nanometre length scales is crucial for the development of both fundamental science and nanophotonic technologies. Recent advancements have been achieved by exploiting various crystalline anisotropies, allowing for subdiffractional and diffraction-less canalisation of energy. These studies in particular benefit from surface structuring as well as from stacking and twisting of 2D materials, whereas corresponding capabilities of anisotropic bulk crystals are rather unexplored. In this work, we show that ferroelastic twin walls - crystallographically perfect 2D-sheets that separate regions of differently oriented domains - in the distorted perovskite LaAlO₃ provide a natural platform for broadband lateral confinement of light at the nanoscale. Without fabrication processes, the electromagnetic fields localised at such walls exhibit lateral optical sizes up to 260 times smaller than the free-space wavelength. Depending on the adjacent domain orientation and frequency, the twin wall pattern preferentially concentrates or repels the electromagnetic energy, constituting a natural building block towards broadband MIR and THz nanophotonics for polaritonic circuitry.
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BibTeX
@article{wetzel2026ultrahigh,
title = {{Ultra-high THz-field-confinement at LaAlO₃ twin walls.}},
author = {J Wetzel and J Taboada-Gutiérrez and M Roeper and F G Kaps and G L Esposito and D Marchese and R Buschbeck and P Lenz and J M Klopf and H A Bechtel and S N Gilbert Corder and J Teyssier and S C Kehr and L M Eng and A B Kuzmenko and S D Seddon},
journal = {Nature communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77689-5},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957654},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Ultra-high THz-field-confinement at LaAlO₃ twin walls.
AU - J Wetzel
AU - J Taboada-Gutiérrez
AU - M Roeper
AU - F G Kaps
AU - G L Esposito
AU - D Marchese
AU - R Buschbeck
AU - P Lenz
AU - J M Klopf
AU - H A Bechtel
AU - S N Gilbert Corder
AU - J Teyssier
AU - S C Kehr
AU - L M Eng
AU - A B Kuzmenko
AU - S D Seddon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - Nature communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-77689-5
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957654
AB - The control and steering of light at nanometre length scales is crucial for the development of both fundamental science and nanophotonic technologies. Recent advancements have been achieved by exploiting various crystalline anisotropies, allowing for subdiffractional and diffraction-less canalisation of energy. These studies in particular benefit from surface structuring as well as from stacking and twisting of 2D materials, whereas corresponding capabilities of anisotropic bulk crystals are rather unexplored. In this work, we show that ferroelastic twin walls - crystallographically perfect 2D-sheets that separate regions of differently oriented domains - in the distorted perovskite LaAlO₃ provide a natural platform for broadband lateral confinement of light at the nanoscale. Without fabrication processes, the electromagnetic fields localised at such walls exhibit lateral optical sizes up to 260 times smaller than the free-space wavelength. Depending on the adjacent domain orientation and frequency, the twin wall pattern preferentially concentrates or repels the electromagnetic energy, constituting a natural building block towards broadband MIR and THz nanophotonics for polaritonic circuitry.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -