Prospects and Applications Near Ferroelectric Quantum Phase Transitions

Abstract

The emergence of complex and fascinating states of quantum matter in the neighborhood of zero temperature phase transitions suggests that such quantum phenomena should be studied in a variety of settings. Advanced technologies of the future may be fabricated from materials where the cooperative behavior of charge, spin and current can be manipulated at cryogenic temperatures. The propagating lattice dynamics of displacive ferroelectrics make them appealing for the study of quantum critical phenomena that is characterized by both space- and time-dependent quantities. In this Key Issues article we aim to provide a self-contained overview of ferroelectrics near quantum phase transitions. Unlike most magnetic cases, the ferroelectric quantum critical point can be tuned experimentally to reside at, above or below its upper critical dimension; this feature allows for detailed interplay between experiment and theory using both scaling and self-consistent field models. Empirically, the sensitivity of the ferroelectrics $T_c$s to external to chemical pressure gives practical access to a broad range of temperature behavior over several hundreds of Kelvin. Additional degrees of freedom like charge and spin can be added and characterized systematically. Satellite memories, electrocaloric cooling and low-loss phased-array radar are among possible applications of low-temperature ferroelectrics. We end with open questions for future research that include textured polarization states and unusual forms of superconductivity that remain to be understood theoretically.

Invited Key Issues article for Reports on the Progress of Physics; References added

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Cited by in corpus (44)

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• Metallicity and superconductivity in doped strontium titanate
• Multiferroic Quantum Criticality
• Dynamically induced magnetism in KTaO${}_3$
• Quasiparticle and Nonquasiparticle Transport in Doped Quantum Paraelectrics
• Anisotropic superconductivity mediated by ferroelectric fluctuations in cubic systems with spin-orbit coupling
• Quantum Ising model on the frustrated square lattice
• Pairing from dynamically screened Coulomb repulsion in bismuth
• Charge Transport in a Polar Metal
• Quantum ferroelectric instabilities in superconducting SrTiO${}_3$
• Mesoscopic tunneling in strontium titanate
• Dynamic multiferroicity of a ferroelectric quantum critical point
• Melting of charge order in the low-temperature state of an electronic ferroelectric
• Evidence of a structural quantum critical point in (Ca${}_x$Sr${}_{1-x}$)${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ from a lattice dynamics study
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• Emergence of mesoscale quantum phase transitions in a ferromagnet
• Large-scale Atomistic Simulation of Quantum Effects in SrTiO${}_3$ from First Principles
• Proton-mediated reversible switching of metastable ferroelectric phases with low operation voltages
• Quantum Annealed Criticality
• Multiband Quantum Criticality of Polar Metals
• A theory of criticality for quantum ferroelectric metals
• Superconductivity in the vicinity of a ferroelectric quantum phase transition
• Quantum Annealed Criticality: A Scaling Description
• Kohn-Luttinger Correction to Tc in a Phonon Superconductor
• Light-Driven Transitions in Quantum Paraelectrics
• Lamellar fluctuations melt ferroelectricity
• Giant Grüneisen parameter in a strain-tuned superconducting quantum paraelectric: A consequence of the vanishing ferroelectric phonon energy
• Quantum fluctuations lead to glassy electron dynamics in the good metal regime of electron doped KTaO3
• Topological solitons and bulk polarization switch in collinear type II multiferroics
• Kapitza stabilization of quantum critical order
• Topological superconductivity from transverse optical phonons in oxide heterostructures
• Observation of zero-field transverse resistance in AlO${}_x$/SrTiO${}_3$ interface devices
• Quantum Critical Points in Ferroelectric Relaxors: Stuffed Tungsten Bronze K3Li2Ta5O15 and Lead Pyrochlore (Pb2Nb2O7)
• Domain-Wall Ferroelectric Polarons in a two-dimensional Rotor Lattice Model
• Thermal Magnetic Fluctuations of a Ferroelectric Quantum Critical Point
• Beyond being free: glassy dynamics of SrTiO${}_3$-based two-dimensional electron gas
• Phonon-Induced Collective Modes in Spin-Orbit Coupled Polar Metals
• Exploring magneto-electric coupling through lattice distortions: insights from a pantograph model
• When Quantum Fluctuations Meet Structural Instabilities: The Isotope- and Pressure-Induced Phase Transition in the Quantum Paraelectric NaOH
• Unconventional superconductivity from electronic dipole fluctuations
• Phonon-mediated spin transport in quantum paraelectric metals
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• Spin-correlation Driven Ferroelectric Quantum Criticality in a Perovskite Quantum Spin-liquid System, Ba3CuSb2O9