Middle: In dI/dV maps, a high intensity at the CDW center (-366 mV) becomes depressions at 800 mV due to NDR.
Bottom: dI/dV spectra of a, b, and c atoms. Spectra of the ‘a’ site reveal NDR.
Scientific Achievement
A robust negative differential resistance (NDR) on charge density waves (CDW) exists for a 2D material after voltage pulse manipulation with low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM).
Significance and Impact
CDW, an ordered quantum fluid of electrons, and NDR, which has applications in electronics, are unconnected physical phenomena. This discovery opens exciting potential applications of CDW in 2D materials for electronic and nanoscale devices.
Research Details
- A 1T-TaS2 (tantalum disulfide) surface was investigated.
- Atomic scale tunneling spectroscopy and atomic manipulation found an NDR appears on the CDW top sites of Ta(0) atoms forming a ‘Star of David’-type structure.
Work was performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials.
DOI: 10.1039/C9NR07857F
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