Observation of topologically protected states at crystalline phase boundaries in single-layer WSe<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30143617.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-05672-w and PMC identifier 6109167.
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Abstract
Transition metal dichalcogenide materials are unique in the wide variety of structural and electronic phases they exhibit in the two-dimensional limit. Here we show how such polymorphic flexibility can be used to achieve topological states at highly ordered phase boundaries in a new quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI), 1T'-WSe<sub>2</sub>. We observe edge states at the crystallographically aligned interface between a quantum spin Hall insulating domain of 1T'-WSe<sub>2</sub> and a semiconducting domain of 1H-WSe<sub>2</sub> in contiguous single layers. The QSHI nature of single-layer 1T'-WSe<sub>2</sub> is verified using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to determine band inversion around a 120 meV energy gap, as well as scanning tunneling spectroscopy to directly image edge-state formation. Using this edge-state geometry we confirm the predicted penetration depth of one-dimensional interface states into the two-dimensional bulk of a QSHI for a well-specified crystallographic direction. These interfaces create opportunities for testing predictions of the microscopic behavior of topologically protected boundary states.