Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal

Abstract The convergence of electronics and photonics is attracting attention for its potential to surpass performance limitations of existing information‐processing devices. In particular, the electro‐optic (EO) effect plays a critical role in high‐speed and low‐power conversion between electrical...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Keishi Sunami, Sachio Horiuchi, Shoji Ishibashi, Jun'ya Tsutsumi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2025-03-01
Series:Advanced Electronic Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400346
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850250942484578304
author Keishi Sunami
Sachio Horiuchi
Shoji Ishibashi
Jun'ya Tsutsumi
author_facet Keishi Sunami
Sachio Horiuchi
Shoji Ishibashi
Jun'ya Tsutsumi
author_sort Keishi Sunami
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The convergence of electronics and photonics is attracting attention for its potential to surpass performance limitations of existing information‐processing devices. In particular, the electro‐optic (EO) effect plays a critical role in high‐speed and low‐power conversion between electrical and optical signals, which is demanded for future communication networks. Here, a novel class of EO material is demonstrated, the organic ferroelectric crystal of croconic acid (CRCA). The recently developed birefringence field‐modulation imaging technique enables high‐throughput evaluation of the EO coefficient for as‐grown bulk crystals, unveiling a figure of merit of >400 for CRCA, which exceeds that of 320 in the conventional EO material LiNbO3 in the visible‐light range. Analyses in conjunction with theoretical calculations clarify that its remarkable EO performance is attributable to deformation of the π‐orbital coupled with the proton displacement. This finding provides a new route for the molecular design of high‐performance EO materials: proton–π‐electron‐coupled ferroelectrics.
format Article
id doaj-art-2b47cbcc310e4c02ab296decd063385c
institution OA Journals
issn 2199-160X
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Wiley-VCH
record_format Article
series Advanced Electronic Materials
spelling doaj-art-2b47cbcc310e4c02ab296decd063385c2025-08-20T01:58:04ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Electronic Materials2199-160X2025-03-01113n/an/a10.1002/aelm.202400346Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric CrystalKeishi Sunami0Sachio Horiuchi1Shoji Ishibashi2Jun'ya Tsutsumi3Research Institute for Advanced Electronics and Photonics National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–8565 JapanResearch Institute for Advanced Electronics and Photonics National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–8565 JapanResearch Center for Computational Design of Advanced Functional Materials (CD‐FMat) National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–8568 JapanResearch Institute for Advanced Electronics and Photonics National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–8565 JapanAbstract The convergence of electronics and photonics is attracting attention for its potential to surpass performance limitations of existing information‐processing devices. In particular, the electro‐optic (EO) effect plays a critical role in high‐speed and low‐power conversion between electrical and optical signals, which is demanded for future communication networks. Here, a novel class of EO material is demonstrated, the organic ferroelectric crystal of croconic acid (CRCA). The recently developed birefringence field‐modulation imaging technique enables high‐throughput evaluation of the EO coefficient for as‐grown bulk crystals, unveiling a figure of merit of >400 for CRCA, which exceeds that of 320 in the conventional EO material LiNbO3 in the visible‐light range. Analyses in conjunction with theoretical calculations clarify that its remarkable EO performance is attributable to deformation of the π‐orbital coupled with the proton displacement. This finding provides a new route for the molecular design of high‐performance EO materials: proton–π‐electron‐coupled ferroelectrics.https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400346electro‐optic effectorganic ferroelectricsfield‐modulation imagingbirefringence
spellingShingle Keishi Sunami
Sachio Horiuchi
Shoji Ishibashi
Jun'ya Tsutsumi
Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal
Advanced Electronic Materials
electro‐optic effect
organic ferroelectrics
field‐modulation imaging
birefringence
title Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal
title_full Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal
title_fullStr Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal
title_full_unstemmed Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal
title_short Unveiling High Electro‐Optic Performance in a Proton–π‐Electron‐Coupled Ferroelectric Crystal
title_sort unveiling high electro optic performance in a proton π electron coupled ferroelectric crystal
topic electro‐optic effect
organic ferroelectrics
field‐modulation imaging
birefringence
url https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202400346
work_keys_str_mv AT keishisunami unveilinghighelectroopticperformanceinaprotonpelectroncoupledferroelectriccrystal
AT sachiohoriuchi unveilinghighelectroopticperformanceinaprotonpelectroncoupledferroelectriccrystal
AT shojiishibashi unveilinghighelectroopticperformanceinaprotonpelectroncoupledferroelectriccrystal
AT junyatsutsumi unveilinghighelectroopticperformanceinaprotonpelectroncoupledferroelectriccrystal