Local structure memory effects in the polar and nonpolar phases of MoTe2

Valeri Petkov and Yang Ren
Phys. Rev. B 103, 094101 – Published 1 March 2021
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Abstract

We use total scattering to study the reversible transition between the polar 1T and nonpolar Td phases of layered MoTe2 taking place at 240 K. Whereas, macroscopically, the transition appears to be first order, locally, it is not. In particular, a great deal of the stacking sequence of Te-Mo-Te layers characteristic of the polar 1T phase persists locally in the nonpolar Td phase, and vice versa, over a broad temperature range extending about 100 K both below and above the transition. The intermixing ratio for the two sequences evolves gradually across the transition temperature, consistent with a second-order transition behavior. The presence of coexisting local polar and nonpolar regions and the resulting variety of internal interfaces where the spatial inversion symmetry is broken may be behind some of the unusual electronic properties of TdMoTe2, including its putative type-II Weyl semimetal state.

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  • Received 7 January 2021
  • Revised 12 February 2021
  • Accepted 15 February 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.103.094101

©2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Valeri Petkov1,* and Yang Ren2

  • 1Department of Physics, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48858, USA
  • 2X-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA

  • *petko1vg@cmich.edu

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Issue

Vol. 103, Iss. 9 — 1 March 2021

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