• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 9, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Tailored laser fields reveal properties of transparent crystals

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
September 6, 2025
in Science News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Research team led by the University of Göttingen investigates surface magnetisation

The surface of a material often has properties that are very different from the properties within the material. For example, a non-conducting crystal, which actually exhibits no magnetism, can show magnetisation restricted to its surface because of the way the atoms are arranged there. These distinct properties at interfaces and surfaces of materials often play a key role in the development of new functional components such as optoelectronic chips or sensors and are therefore subject to extensive research. An international research team from the University of Göttingen, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry Göttingen and the National Research Council Canada has now succeeded in investigating the surfaces of transparent crystals using powerful irradiation from lasers. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications.

The researchers describe their method, which relies purely on light, to determine electrical and magnetic properties on surfaces. This new method could play an important role in the investigation of transparent, non-conductive materials, as established methods using electrons often experience experimental limitations due to low conductivity, among other difficulties. The use of light helps get around these limitations: when light rays hit a material surface, for example a glass pane, they are reflected at the interface, refracted and absorbed into the material. These effects, which can be observed in everyday life, are the result of the interaction of the weak light field with the atoms and electrons of the irradiated material. In the case of stronger light fields, which are achieved with lasers, further effects occur, which can, for example, generate higher light frequencies – known as high harmonic radiation. These effects are often dependent on the direction of oscillation of the light field relative to the atomic arrangement in the material.

“We take advantage of this dependence when generating high harmonic radiation to gain insights into the properties at and near the surface of transparent materials,” says first author and PhD student Tobias Heinrich from the Faculty of Physics at Göttingen University. “The light field we use is composed of two laser pulses rotating in opposite directions at two different frequencies, and this results in a cloverleaf-shaped symmetrical field.” These tailor-made light fields can be adapted to the atomic arrangement of the material to control the generation of the high harmonics.

“We show that this control can be used to study magnetisation at the surface of magnesium oxide,” explains Dr Murat Sivis, the study lead. Depending on the direction of rotation of the light field – also called chirality – the generated ultraviolet light is absorbed to different degrees at the interface. “For various materials that do not actually exhibit magnetisation or electrical conductivity, these properties at the surface have been predicted in theory,” Sivis said. “In our study, we show that it is now possible to investigate such phenomena using just optical methods, probably even at very short time scales.” The researchers also hope to gain new insights into the electronic properties of other chiral materials, as the study shows using the example of the helical crystal structure of quartz. The sensitivity to chiral phenomena on surfaces could potentially open up new opportunities for research into innovative functional materials.

###

Originalveröffentlichung: Tobias Heinrich et al. „Chiral high-harmonic generation and spectroscopy on solid surfaces using polarization-tailored strong fields”. Nature Communications (2021). Doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23999-9.

Contact:

Dr Murat Sivis

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Physics: Solid state physics and nanostructures research group

Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry – Ultrafast Dynamics

Am Faßberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-24535

Email: [email protected]

http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/598878.html

Tobias Heinrich

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Physics – Solid state physics and nanostructures research group

Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-26818

Email: [email protected]

http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/91116.html

Media Contact
Melissa Sollich
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=6298

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23999-9

Tags: Chemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesMaterialsNanotechnology/MicromachinesOptics
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Unique Traits of Room-Temperature Organic Photodetectors

Unique Traits of Room-Temperature Organic Photodetectors

October 9, 2025
Assessing Bilicocoon Phototherapy for Neonatal Jaundice

Assessing Bilicocoon Phototherapy for Neonatal Jaundice

October 9, 2025

CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Advanced Breast Cancer

October 9, 2025

Hydride Transfer Drives Thermochemical Heterolytic Hydrogenation

October 9, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1153 shares
    Share 460 Tweet 288
  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    101 shares
    Share 40 Tweet 25
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    96 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • Ohio State Study Reveals Protein Quality Control Breakdown as Key Factor in Cancer Immunotherapy Failure

    80 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Unique Traits of Room-Temperature Organic Photodetectors

Assessing Bilicocoon Phototherapy for Neonatal Jaundice

CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Advanced Breast Cancer

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 63 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.