Dualistic insulator states in 1T-TaS<sub>2</sub> crystals.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38653984.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-47728-0 and PMC identifier 11039681.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
While the monolayer sheet is well-established as a Mott-insulator with a finite energy gap, the insulating nature of bulk 1T-TaS2 crystals remains ambiguous due to their varying dimensionalities and alterable interlayer coupling. In this study, we present a unique approach to unlock the intertwined two-dimensional Mott-insulator and three-dimensional band-insulator states in bulk 1T-TaS2 crystals by structuring a laddering stack along the out-of-plane direction. Through modulating the interlayer coupling, the insulating nature can be switched between band-insulator and Mott-insulator mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate the duality of insulating nature in 1T-TaS2 crystals. By manipulating the translational degree of freedom in layered crystals, our discovery presents a promising strategy for exploring fascinating physics, independent of their dimensionality, thereby offering a "three-dimensional" control for the era of slidetronics.