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From Mott state to superconductivity in 1T-TaS2

Nature Materials volume 7, pages 960–965 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The search for the coexistence between superconductivity and other collective electronic states in many instances promoted the discovery of novel states of matter. The manner in which the different types of electronic order combine remains an ongoing puzzle. 1T-TaS2 is a layered material, and the only transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) known to develop the Mott phase. Here, we show the appearance of a series of low-temperature electronic states in 1T-TaS2 with pressure: the Mott phase melts into a textured charge-density wave (CDW); superconductivity develops within the CDW state, and survives to very high pressures, insensitive to subsequent disappearance of the CDW state and, surprisingly, also the strong changes in the normal state. This is also the first reported case of superconductivity in a pristine 1T-TMD compound. We demonstrate that superconductivity first develops within the state marked by a commensurability-driven, Coulombically frustrated, electronic phase separation.

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Figure 1: Ambient-pressure phases of 1T-TaS2.
Figure 2: Resistivity in the pressure range of 0–25 GPa and temperature range of 1.3–300 K.
Figure 3: The temperature–pressure phase diagram of 1T-TaS2.
Figure 4: The results for the Coulomb energy calculation for two different domain stackings as a function of domain size.
Figure 5: Resistivity taken at a temperature of 6 K as a function of pressure.

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Acknowledgements

The work in Lausanne was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and its NCCR ‘MaNEP’. Partial support was also provided by Croatian MZES project award No. 035-0352826-2847 and by SCOPES Project award No. IB7320-111044.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, IPMC, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

    B. Sipos, A. F. Kusmartseva, A. Akrap, H. Berger & L. Forró

  2. Institute of Physics, Bijenička c. 46, Zagreb, Croatia

    E. Tutiš

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  1. B. Sipos
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Contributions

A.F.K. and B.S. shared equal responsibility for all aspects of this project from sample preparation to data collection and analysis. A.A. did part of the low-pressure measurements. H.B. grew the samples. E.T. contributed to the theoretical aspects of the discussions and carried out the calculations. L.F. was the overall project leader who initiated the topic and advised on the research.

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Correspondence to B. Sipos or A. F. Kusmartseva.

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Sipos, B., Kusmartseva, A., Akrap, A. et al. From Mott state to superconductivity in 1T-TaS2. Nature Mater 7, 960–965 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2318

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