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Stripe phases in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices
Chenhao Jin1, Zui Tao2,3, Tingxin Li3
1Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Ithaca, NY, USA. jinchenhao@cornell.edu.
Nature Materials
|March 26, 2021
Summary
Researchers discovered stripe phases in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices using optical and compressibility measurements. These findings reveal new insights into strongly correlated systems and symmetry breaking.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Two-Dimensional Materials
Background:
- Stripe phases, characterized by broken rotational symmetry in charge density, are prevalent in strongly correlated systems with competing interactions.
- Identifying and characterizing these stripe phases presents a significant experimental challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To uncover and investigate stripe phases in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices.
- To explore the tunability of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor moiré superlattices for studying stripe phases and other symmetry-breaking ground states.
Main Methods:
- Combined optical anisotropy and electronic compressibility measurements.
- Wide-field imaging to observe domain configurations.
Main Results:
- Identified stripe phases in WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices.
- Observed strong electronic anisotropy, peaking at 1/2 filling, indicative of an insulating stripe crystal phase.
- Discovered additional stripe crystals at commensurate fillings (1/4, 2/5, 3/5) and compressible electronic liquid crystal states at incommensurate fillings.
Conclusions:
- WSe2/WS2 moiré superlattices serve as a tunable platform for studying stripe phases.
- Demonstrated the interplay between stripe phases and other symmetry-breaking ground states in 2D materials.
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