Strain Tuning of Electronic Crystals

We are excited to share a major experimental milestone: for the first time, we have successfully performed strain tuning of self-organized electronic crystals in our laboratories at TU Dresden. Such crystals are also known as electronic superlattices. The present study focuses on the kagome metal CsV₃Sb₅, a platform of great interest for understanding collective electronic states in quantum materials. Using high-resolution x-ray diffraction, we were able to track in detail how the electronic superlattices in this material respond to carefully applied uniaxial strain.

A central achievement of this work is the controlled detwinning of the so-called 2 × 2 × 4 electronic crystal, which provides unprecedented access to the intrinsic properties of this complex ordered phase. Such access represents an important step toward resolving long-standing questions about the intertwined structural, orbital, and electronic degrees of freedom in kagome metals. Our measurements reveal a gigantic strain response of the 2 × 2 × 4 superlattice domains. Surprisingly, the lower-temperature 2 × 2 × 2 superlattice remains largely unaffected by the same uniaxial strains. This striking contrast points to fundamentally different symmetries and stabilization mechanisms underlying the two electronic orders. Supported by density functional theory, our results further evidence an active role of the orbital degrees of freedom in stabilizing complex electronic ordering patterns, which may also explain the markedly different strain responses.

Beyond these scientific insights, the publication marks an important step forward for our experimental capabilities at TU Dresden. The world-leading data quality demonstrates the power of combining precision strain control with advanced x-ray diffraction, opening exciting new opportunities to manipulate and understand collective phenomena in quantum materials.

Original publication:
Sadrollahi, E., Almeida Mendes, J., Stilkerich, N. et al. Strain-control of electronic superlattice domains in CsV₃Sb₅. npj Quantum Mater. 11, 66 (2026)