Atomic ‘GPS’: Quantum Material Transitions Captured in First-Ever Atomic Movies

Scientists developed a technique to create atomic movies that show the transition of a quantum material from insulator to metal, discovering a new material phase and advancing the understanding of material properties with significant implications for material design.

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have created the first-ever atomic movies showing how atoms rearrange locally within a quantum material as it transitions from an insulator to a metal. With the help of these movies, the researchers discovered a new material phase that settles a yearslong scientific debate and could facilitate the design of new transitioning materials with commercial applications.

This research, recently published on July 15 in Nature Materials, marks a methodological achievement; the researchers demonstrated that a materials characterization technique called atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis is feasible — and successful — at X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facilities. PDF is typically employed for synchrotron light source experiments, during which samples are bombarded with pulses of X-rays. By studying how X-ray diffraction patterns change after interacting with materials, scientists can better understand the properties of those materials. However, these experiments are restricted by the shortest X-ray pulses that can be generated.