The Floquet engineering of quantum materials

Quantum materials are materials with unique electronic, magnetic or optical properties, which are underpinned by the behavior of electrons at a quantum mechanical level. Studies have showed that interactions between these ...

Researchers glimpse the inside of a photonic crystal

(Phys.org)—While today's smart phones, tablets, and other small electronic devices rely on electrical data connections, in the future they may use optical connections in order to become even faster and smaller. Photonic ...

Producing graphene layers using crystallization

(PhysOrg.com) -- Ever since it's relatively recent discovery, graphene has generated a great deal of interest. Graphene is extracted from graphite in many cases, and consists of a sheet of carbon atoms bound together in a ...

Exerting better control over matter waves

(PhysOrg.com) -- “The concept of matter waves is at the heart of quantum mechanics,” Oliver Morsch tells PhysOrg.com. “At the beginning of the last century, scientists discovered that solid particles could exhibit properties ...

Electrons take new shape inside unconventional metal

One of the biggest achievements of quantum physics was recasting our vision of the atom. Out was the early 1900s model of a solar system in miniature, in which electrons looped around a solid nucleus. Instead, quantum physics ...

Chaining atoms together yields quantum storage

Engineers at Caltech have developed an approach for quantum storage that could help pave the way for the development of large-scale optical quantum networks.

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Crystal structure

In mineralogy and crystallography, a crystal structure is a unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. A crystal structure is composed of a motif, a set of atoms arranged in a particular way, and a lattice. Motifs are located upon the points of a lattice, which is an array of points repeating periodically in three dimensions. The points can be thought of as forming identical tiny boxes, called unit cells, that fill the space of the lattice. The lengths of the edges of a unit cell and the angles between them are called the lattice parameters. The symmetry properties of the crystal are embodied in its space group. A crystal's structure and symmetry play a role in determining many of its properties, such as cleavage, electronic band structure, and optical properties.

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