Light is a powerful tool in sculpting the energy landscape of strong correlations. For example, low-intensity incoherent light is sufficient to change the way charge density wave (CDW) domains stack across layers of 1T-TaS2. The change in stacking type manifests in a large change in optical properties of 1T-TaS2 at room temperature. Much remains unknown about the mechanism of this light-induced stacking reorganization. Here, we study the temperature dependent optical tunability of 1T-TaS2 to probe the mechanism of the light-induced CDW stacking reorganization. We find that the optical tunability exhibits a peak at 250 K because of two opposing features. At lower temperatures, the domains grow bigger, and hence, the optical tunability is higher. However, the stacking reorganization becomes energetically less favorable at lower temperatures. The dynamics of tunability suggest that the mechanism of switching between the two stacking types could be explained by the classical nucleation theory. These findings shed light on the mechanism of the light-induced CDW stacking reorganization in 1T-TaS2 and such other layered CDW materials.
References
1.
D.
Fausti
, R.
Tobey
, N.
Dean
, S.
Kaiser
, A.
Dienst
, M. C.
Hoffmann
, S.
Pyon
, T.
Takayama
, H.
Takagi
, and A.
Cavalleri
, “Light-induced superconductivity in a stripe-ordered cuprate
,” Science
331
, 189
–191
(2011
).2.
S.-I.
Ohkoshi
, K.
Imoto
, Y.
Tsunobuchi
, S.
Takano
, and H.
Tokoro
, “Light-induced spin-crossover magnet
,” Nat. Chem.
3
, 564
–569
(2011
).3.
X.
Li
, T.
Qiu
, J.
Zhang
, E.
Baldini
, J.
Lu
, A. M.
Rappe
, and K. A.
Nelson
, “Terahertz field–induced ferroelectricity in quantum paraelectric SrTiO3
,” Science
364
, 1079
–1082
(2019
).4.
Z.
Tao
, F.
Zhou
, T.-R. T.
Han
, D.
Torres
, T.
Wang
, N.
Sepulveda
, K.
Chang
, M.
Young
, R. R.
Lunt
, and C.-Y.
Ruan
, “The nature of photoinduced phase transition and metastable states in vanadium dioxide
,” Sci. Rep.
6
, 38514
(2016
).5.
I.
Vaskivskyi
, J.
Gospodaric
, S.
Brazovskii
, D.
Svetin
, P.
Sutar
, E.
Goreshnik
, I. A.
Mihailovic
, T.
Mertelj
, and D.
Mihailovic
, “Controlling the metal-to-insulator relaxation of the metastable hidden quantum state in 1T-TaS2
,” Sci. Adv.
1
, e1500168
(2015
).6.
T.-R. T.
Han
, F.
Zhou
, C. D.
Malliakas
, P. M.
Duxbury
, S. D.
Mahanti
, M. G.
Kanatzidis
, and C.-Y.
Ruan
, “Exploration of metastability and hidden phases in correlated electron crystals visualized by femtosecond optical doping and electron crystallography
,” Sci. Adv.
1
, e1400173
(2015
).7.
W.
Li
and G. V.
Naik
, “Large optical tunability from charge density waves in 1T-TaS2 under incoherent illumination
,” Nano Lett.
20
, 7868
–7873
(2020
).8.
F.
Di Salvo
and J.
Graebner
, “The low temperature electrical properties of 1T-TaS2
,” Solid State Commun.
23
, 825
–828
(1977
).9.
R.
Manzke
, T.
Buslaps
, B.
Pfalzgraf
, M.
Skibowski
, and O.
Anderson
, “On the phase transitions in 1T-TaS2
,” Europhys. Lett.
8
, 195
(1989
).10.
R.
Hovden
, A. W.
Tsen
, P.
Liu
, B. H.
Savitzky
, I. E.
Baggari
, Y.
Liu
, W.
Lu
, Y.
Sun
, P.
Kim
, A. N.
Pasupathy
et al, “Atomic lattice disorder in charge-density-wave phases of exfoliated dichalcogenides (1T-TaS2)
,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.
113
, 11420
–11424
(2016
).11.
L. L.
Guyader
, T.
Chase
, A.
Reid
, R.
Li
, D.
Svetin
, X.
Shen
, T.
Vecchione
, X.
Wang
, D.
Mihailovic
, and H.
Dürr
, “Stacking order dynamics in the quasi-two-dimensional dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2 probed with MeV ultrafast electron diffraction
,” Struct. Dyn.
4
, 044020
(2017
).12.
Q.
Stahl
, M.
Kusch
, F.
Heinsch
, G.
Garbarino
, N.
Kretzschmar
, K.
Hanff
, K.
Rossnagel
, J.
Geck
, and T.
Ritschel
, “Collapse of layer dimerization in the photo-induced hidden state of 1T-TaS2
,” Nat. Commun.
11
, 1247
(2020
).13.
Y.
Ma
, D.
Wu
, and Z.
Wang
, “The evidence of stacking disorder from dielectric response along the c-axis in the commensurate CDW phase in bulk 1T-TaS2
,” Solid State Commun.
316–317
, 113946
(2020
).14.
B.
Sipos
, A. F.
Kusmartseva
, A.
Akrap
, H.
Berger
, L.
Forró
, and E.
Tutiš
, “From mott state to superconductivity in 1T-TaS2
,” Nat. Mater.
7
, 960
–965
(2008
).15.
T.
Ritschel
, H.
Berger
, and J.
Geck
, “Stacking-driven gap formation in layered 1T-TaS2
,” Phys. Rev. B
98
, 195134
(2018
).16.
C.
Butler
, M.
Yoshida
, T.
Hanaguri
, and Y.
Iwasa
, “Mottness versus unit-cell doubling as the driver of the insulating state in 1T-TaS2
,” Nat. Commun.
11
, 2477
(2020
).17.
S.-H.
Lee
, J. S.
Goh
, and D.
Cho
, “Origin of the insulating phase and first-order metal-insulator transition in 1T- TaS2
,” Phys. Rev. Lett.
122
, 106404
(2019
).18.
A. W.
Tsen
, R.
Hovden
, D.
Wang
, Y. D.
Kim
, J.
Okamoto
, K. A.
Spoth
, Y.
Liu
, W.
Lu
, Y.
Sun
, J. C.
Hone
et al, “Structure and control of charge density waves in two-dimensional 1T-TaS2
,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.
112
, 15054
–15059
(2015
).19.
E.
Martino
, A.
Pisoni
, L.
Ćirić
, A.
Arakcheeva
, H.
Berger
, A.
Akrap
, C.
Putzke
, P. J.
Moll
, I.
Batistić
, E.
Tutiš
et al, “Preferential out-of-plane conduction and quasi-one-dimensional electronic states in layered 1T-TaS2
,” npj 2D Mater. Appl.
4
, 7
(2020
).20.
K.
Sun
, S.
Sun
, C.
Zhu
, H.
Tian
, H.
Yang
, and J.
Li
, “Hidden CDW states and insulator-to-metal transition after a pulsed femtosecond laser excitation in layered chalcogenide 1T-TaS2−xSex
,” Sci. Adv.
4
, eaas9660
(2018
).21.
W.
Li
and G. V.
Naik
, “In-plane electrical bias tunable optical properties of 1T-TaS2
,” Opt. Mater. Express
9
, 497
–503
(2019
).22.
N.
Dean
, J. C.
Petersen
, D.
Fausti
, R. I.
Tobey
, S.
Kaiser
, L.
Gasparov
, H.
Berger
, and A.
Cavalleri
, “Polaronic conductivity in the photoinduced phase of 1T-TaS2
,” Phys. Rev. Lett.
106
, 016401
(2011
).23.
T.
Danz
, T.
Domröse
, and C.
Ropers
, “Ultrafast nanoimaging of the order parameter in a structural phase transition
,” Science
371
, 371
–374
(2021
).© 2021 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.
2021
Author(s)
You do not currently have access to this content.
