Multiple Charge Density Wave States at the Surface of TbTe${}_3$

Abstract

We studied TbTe${}_3$ using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in the temperature range of 298 - 355 K. As seen in previous STM measurements on RTe${}_3$ compounds, our measurements detect a unidirectional charge density wave state (CDW) in the surface Te-layer with a wavevector consistent with that of the bulk, q${}_{cdw}$ = 0.30 $\pm$ 0.01c${}^{\ast }$. However, unlike previous STM measurements, and differing from measurements probing the bulk, we detect two perpendicular orientations for the unidirectional CDWs with no directional preference for the in-plane crystal axes (a- or c-axis) and no noticeable difference in wavevector magnitude. In addition, we find regions in which the bidirectional CDW states coexist. We propose that observation of two CDW states indicates a decoupling of the surface Te-layer from the rare-earth block layer below, and that strain variations in the Te surface layer drive the local CDW direction to the specific unidirectional or, in rare occurrences, bidirectional CDW orders observed. This indicates that similar driving mechanisms for CDW formation in the bulk, where anisotropic lattice strain energy is important, are at play at the surface. In our bias-dependent measurements, we find no contrast inversion for the CDW state between occupied and empty states. This finding differs from other quasi 2-dimensional materials containing a hidden 1-dimensional character which leads to a favorable Fermi surface nesting scenario. Our temperature-dependent measurements provide evidence for localized CDW formation above the bulk transition temperature, T${}_{cdw}$.

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Evidence for realignment of the charge density wave state in ErTe${}_3$ and TmTe${}_3$ under uniaxial stress via elastocaloric and elastoresistivity measurements
• Charge density wave-generated Fermi surfaces in NdTe${}_3$
• Emergent Tetragonality in a Fundamentally Orthorhombic Material
• Interplay of Charge Density Wave States and Strain at the Surface of CeTe${}_2$
• Uncovering hidden Fermi surface instabilities through visualizing unconventional quasiparticle interference in CeTe3
• Competing charge density wave phases in YNiC2
• Observation of momentum dependent charge density wave gap in EuTe4
• The essential role of surface pinning in the dynamics of charge density waves submitted to external dc fields