Narrowbandwidth Tunable Terahertz Lasers Hold Great Potential for Advancing Materials Research and Technology.

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Germany has made a groundbreaking discovery in the manipulation of quantum materials using laser drives. By fine-tuning the light source to 10 THz, the researchers were able to create a long-lived superconducting-like state in a fullerene-based material (K3C60) using laser light, while reducing the pulse intensity by a factor of 100.

The researchers were able to directly observe this light-induced state at room temperature for 100 picoseconds, and predict that it has a lifetime of at least 0.5 nanoseconds. This discovery could have significant implications for understanding the underlying microscopic mechanism of photo-induced superconductivity and could provide insight into the amplification of electronic properties in materials.

Andrea Cavalleri, founding director of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, as well as a physics professor at the University of Hamburg and the University of Oxford, explained why researchers are interested in nonlinear responses from materials and how they can amplify electronic properties such as superconductivity. The resonance frequency identified in this study could help theoretical physicists understand which excitations are crucial for this effect in K3C60.

Edward Rowe, a Ph.D. student working with Cavalleri, also noted that using a higher repetition rate at the 10 THz frequency may sustain the metastable state longer, potentially leading to continuous sustenance of the superconducting-like state. This research has great potential to advance our understanding of quantum materials and their properties.

Overall, this discovery represents an important step forward in our efforts to manipulate quantum materials using laser drives and gain insight into their unique properties.