No Arabic abstract
Single layers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are excellent candidates for electronic applications beyond the graphene platform; many of them exhibit novel properties including charge density waves (CDWs) and magnetic ordering. CDWs in these single layers are generally a planar projection of the corresponding bulk CDWs because of the quasi-two-dimensional nature of TMDCs; a different CDW symmetry is unexpected. We report herein the successful creation of pristine single-layer VSe$_2$, which shows a ($sqrt7 times sqrt3$) CDW in contrast to the (4 $times$ 4) CDW for the layers in bulk VSe$_2$. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) from the single layer shows a sizable ($sqrt7 times sqrt3$) CDW gap of $sim$100 meV at the zone boundary, a 220 K CDW transition temperature twice the bulk value, and no ferromagnetic exchange splitting as predicted by theory. This robust CDW with an exotic broken symmetry as the ground state is explained via a first-principles analysis. The results illustrate a unique CDW phenomenon in the two-dimensional limit.
How magnetism emerges in low-dimensional materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides at the monolayer limit is still an open question. Herein, we present a comprehensive study of the magnetic properties of single crystal and monolayer VSe$_{2}$, both experimentally and emph{ab initio}. Magnetometry, X-ray magnetic circular dichrosim (XMCD) and emph{ab initio} calculations demonstrate that the charge density wave in bulk stoichiometric VSe$_{2.0}$ causes a structural distortion with a strong reduction in the density of sates at the Fermi level, prompting the system towards a non-magnetic state but on the verge of a ferromagnetic instability. In the monolayer limit, the structural rearrangement induces a Peierls distortion with the opening of an energy gap at the Fermi level and the absence of magnetic order. Control experiments on defect-induced VSe$_{2-delta}$ single crystals show a breakdown of magnetism, discarding vacancies as a possible origin of magnetic order in VSe$_{2}$.
The capability to isolate one to few unit-cell thin layers from the bulk matrix of layered compounds opens fascinating prospects to engineer novel electronic phases. However, a comprehensive study of the thickness dependence and of potential extrinsic effects are paramount to harness the electronic properties of such atomic foils. One striking example is the charge density wave (CDW) transition temperature in layered dichalcogenides whose thickness dependence remains unclear in the ultrathin limit. Here we present a detailed study of the thickness and temperature dependences of the CDW in VSe$_2$ by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). We show that mapping the real-space CDW periodicity over a broad thickness range unique to STM provides essential insight. We introduce a robust derivation of the local order parameter and transition temperature based on the real space charge modulation amplitude. Both quantities exhibit a striking non-monotonic thickness dependence that we explain in terms of a 3D to 2D dimensional crossover in the FS topology. This finding highlights thickness as a true tuning parameter of the electronic ground state and reconciles seemingly contradicting thickness dependencies determined in independent transport studies.
Density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory are used to investigate the electronic and vibrational properties of TiS$_2$. Within the local density approximation the material is a semi-metal both in the bulk and in the monolayer form. Most interestingly we observe a Kohn anomaly in the bulk phonon dispersion, which turns into a charge density wave instability when TiS$_2$ is thinned to less than four monolayers. Such charge density wave phase can be tuned by compressive strain, which appears to be the control parameter of the instability.
The two-dimensional topological insulators (2DTI) host a full gap in the bulk band, induced by spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effect, together with the topologically protected gapless edge states. However, the SOC-induced gap is usually small, and it is challenging to suppress the bulk conductance and thus to realize the quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect. In this study, we find a novel mechanism to effectively suppress the bulk conductance. By using the quasiparticle interference (QPI) technique with scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), we demonstrate that the QSH candidate single-layer 1T-WTe$_2$ has a semi-metal bulk band structure with no full SOC-induced gap. Surprisingly, in this two-dimensional system, we find the electron interactions open a Coulomb gap which is always pinned at the Fermi energy (E$_F$). The opening of the Coulomb gap can efficiently diminish the bulk state at the E$_F$ and is in favor of the observation of the quantized conduction of topological edge states.
Charge density waves (CDWs) are understood in great details in one dimension, but they remain largely enigmatic in two dimensional systems. In particular, numerous aspects of the associated energy gap and the formation mechanism are not fully understood. Two long standing riddles are the amplitude and position of the CDW gap with respect to the Fermi level ($E_F$) and the frequent absence of CDW contrast inversion (CI) between opposite bias scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images. Here, we find compelling evidence that these two issues are intimately related. Combining density functional theory and STM to analyse the CDW pattern and modulation amplitude in 1$T$-TiSe$_2$, we find that CI takes place at an unexpected negative sample bias because the CDW gap opens away from $E_F$, deep inside the valence band. This bias becomes increasingly negative as the CDW gap shifts to higher binding energy with electron doping. This study shows the importance of CI in STM images to identify periodic modulations with a CDW and to gain valuable insight into the CDW gap, whose measurement is notoriously controversial.