화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol.371, 17-22, 2013
Cycloid crystals by topology change
A cycloid, formerly known as a roulette, is a curve arising from a point on a circumference that rolls on its plane over a fixed straight line, and the cycloid shape is observed in many natural objects formed under a constraint. Here we report the discovery of cycloid-shaped crystals of TaSe3 obtained via the "topology-change surgery" of thin ring-shaped crystals. We cut the ring-shaped crystals with a focused ion beam. After being cut, they formed a cycloidal shape similar to Cyclotron trajectories of electrons under magnetic and electric fields. We conclude that the inhomogeneous curvature distribution minimizes the bending energy and shear modulation, which corresponds to our shear-less model. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.