Laser Aligns Polar Nanoregions in a Crystal for a Picosecond

Physicists at Auburn University showed that brief laser pulses align polar nanoregions in a modified strontium titanate crystal at warmer temperatures where they are normally disordered. The ordering lasts about a picosecond (10⁻¹² s) yet remains optically detectable, pointing to ultrafast approaches to processing and storing information.

• Laser pulses aligned polar nanoregions at warmer temperatures
• The ordering lasted about 1 picosecond and was read optically
• Crystals were grown by Japan's AIST; measurements done at Auburn
• Results published in Physical Review Letters on October 14, 2026