Abstract
Electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions are two major driving forces that stabilize various charge-ordered phases of matter. In layered compound 1T-TaS2, the intricate interplay between the two generates a Mott-insulating ground state with a peculiar charge-density-wave (CDW) order. The delicate balance also makes it possible to use external perturbations to create and manipulate novel phases in this material. Here, we study a mosaic CDW phase induced by voltage pulses, and find that the new phase exhibits electronic structures entirely different from that of the original Mott ground state. The mosaic phase consists of nanometre-sized domains characterized by well-defined phase shifts of the CDW order parameter in the topmost layer, and by altered stacking relative to the layers underneath. We discover that the nature of the new phase is dictated by the stacking order, and our results shed fresh light on the origin of the Mott phase in 1T-TaS2.
Highlights
Electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions are two major driving forces that stabilize various charge-ordered phases of matter
The insulating ground state of 1T-TaS2, differs from typical MIs in that it resides inside a commensurate CDW (CCDW) state
We use voltage pulses from the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to create a mosaic CDW state out of the insulating ground state of 1T-TaS2 following a procedure described in refs 18,31
Summary
Electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions are two major driving forces that stabilize various charge-ordered phases of matter. We use voltage pulses from the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) to create a mosaic CDW state out of the insulating ground state of 1T-TaS2 following a procedure described in refs 18,31.
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