Nonvolatile optical control of interlayer stacking order in 1T-TaS₂

TY - JOUR

T1 - Nonvolatile optical control of interlayer stacking order in 1T-TaS2

AU - Liu, Junde

AU - Liu, Pei

AU - Yang, Liu

AU - Lee, Sung Hoon

AU - Pan, Mojun

AU - Chen, Famin

AU - Huang, Jierui

AU - Jiang, Bei

AU - Hu, Mingzhe

AU - Zhang, Yuchong

AU - Xie, Zhaoyang

AU - Wang, Gang

AU - Guan, Mengxue

AU - Jiang, Wei

AU - Yang, Huaixin

AU - Li, Jianqi

AU - Yun, Chenxia

AU - Wang, Zhiwei

AU - Meng, Sheng

AU - Yao, Yugui

AU - Qian, Tian

AU - Shi, Xun

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.

PY - 2026/12

Y1 - 2026/12

N2 - Nonvolatile optical manipulation of material properties on demand is a highly sought-after feature in the advancement of future optoelectronic applications. Here, we unravel the nature of the single-laser-pulse induced hidden state in 1T-TaS2 by systematically investigating the electronic structure evolution and the pulse-pair control throughout the reversible transition cycle. Our data indicate a mixed-stacking state involving two similarly low-energy interlayer orders, which is manifested as the charge density wave phase disruption. Furthermore, we elucidate distinct mechanisms underlying the bidirectional transformations — the ultrafast formation of the hidden state is initiated by a coherent phonon which triggers a competition between interlayer stacking orders, while its recovery is governed by the progressive domain evolution. Our work highlights the deterministic role of the competing interlayer orders in the nonvolatile phase transition in 1T-TaS2, establishing all-optical engineering of stacking orders in low-dimensional materials as a viable strategy for achieving desirable nonvolatile electronic devices.

AB - Nonvolatile optical manipulation of material properties on demand is a highly sought-after feature in the advancement of future optoelectronic applications. Here, we unravel the nature of the single-laser-pulse induced hidden state in 1T-TaS2 by systematically investigating the electronic structure evolution and the pulse-pair control throughout the reversible transition cycle. Our data indicate a mixed-stacking state involving two similarly low-energy interlayer orders, which is manifested as the charge density wave phase disruption. Furthermore, we elucidate distinct mechanisms underlying the bidirectional transformations — the ultrafast formation of the hidden state is initiated by a coherent phonon which triggers a competition between interlayer stacking orders, while its recovery is governed by the progressive domain evolution. Our work highlights the deterministic role of the competing interlayer orders in the nonvolatile phase transition in 1T-TaS2, establishing all-optical engineering of stacking orders in low-dimensional materials as a viable strategy for achieving desirable nonvolatile electronic devices.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027703772

U2 - 10.1038/s41535-025-00836-6

DO - 10.1038/s41535-025-00836-6

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105027703772

SN - 2397-4648

VL - 11

JO - npj Quantum Materials

JF - npj Quantum Materials

IS - 1

M1 - 6

ER -