Dynamical Metal to Charge-Density-Wave Junctions in an Atomic Wire Array

Abstract

We investigated the atomic scale electronic phase separation emerging from a quasi-1D charge-density-wave (CDW) state of the In atomic wire array on a Si(111) surface. Spatial variations of the CDW gap and amplitude are quantified for various interfaces of metallic and insulating CDW domains by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STS). The strong anisotropy in the metal-insulator junctions is revealed with an order of magnitude difference in the interwire and intrawire junction lengths of 0.4 and 7 nm, respectively. The intrawire junction length is reduced dramatically by an atomic scale impurity, indicating the tunability of the metal-insulator junction in an atomic scale. Density functional theory calculations disclose the dynamical nature of the intrawire junction formation and tunability.