Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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FM: Fachverband Funktionsmaterialien
FM 22: Focus Session: Materials Discovery III – New materials and functionalities by general principles
FM 22.7: Talk
Friday, March 13, 2026, 11:30–11:45, BEY/0138
Photo-dielectric synaptic plasticity in Zn-substituted BaAl2O4 — •Hiroki Taniguchi — Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan
Optical control of material properties is pivotal for advancing the evolution from conventional electronics to next-generation photoelectronics. Although a variety of photo-induced phenomena, including the photovoltaic effect and photoconduction, have been well established as key mechanisms for photoelectronic devices, the optical manipulation of dielectric responses has remained comparatively unexplored.
Here, I demonstrate a photo-dielectric effect in partially Zn-substituted BaAl2O4, in which the dielectric permittivity increases under below-bandgap photo-irradiation without inducing photoconduction. First-principles calculations indicate that Zn substitution creates a unique defect complex. Upon photo-irradiation, photo-generated electron*hole pairs form a local dipole around this defect complex, producing an additional polarization contribution and consequently enhancing the dielectric permittivity. Furthermore, transient permittivity measurements under sequential pulsed optical excitation reveal synaptic-plasticity-like responses in Zn:BaAl2O4, highlighting its potential for neuromorphic device applications.
Keywords: Photo-induced phenomena; Photodielectric effects; Synaptic Plasticity; Dielectric; Permittivity