Journal Home > Volume 12 , Issue 3
Nano Research 2019, 12(3): 569-573 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2255-x
Research Article | Issue | Published: 12 December 2018

Formation mechanism of twin domain boundary in 2D materials: The case for WTe2

Show Author's Information Guan-Yong Wang1,§,  Weiyu Xie2,3,§,  Dan Xu1,  Hai-Yang Ma1,  Hao Yang1,  Hong Lu4,  Hao-Hua Sun1,  Yao-Yi Li1,  Shuang Jia4,  Liang Fu5,  Shengbai Zhang2( ),  Jin-Feng Jia1,6( )
Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education),School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University,Shanghai,200240,China;
Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
Institute of Chemical Materials,China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), P. O. Box 919-327,Mianyang,621900,China;
International Center for Quantum Materials,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing,100084,China;
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai 200240, China

§ Guan-Yong Wang and Weiyu Xie contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
density functional theory, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), strain, twin domain boundary, WTe2
Topics:
Scanning tunneling microscopySingle crystalsTellurium compounds
Cite this article:
Wang G-Y, Xie W, Xu D, et al. Formation mechanism of twin domain boundary in 2D materials: The case for WTe2. Nano Research, 2019, 12(3): 569-573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2255-x
Download citation
EndNote(RIS)
BibTeX

587

Views

20

Downloads

Citations

7

Crossref

N/A

WoS

6

Scopus

0

CSCD

Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study observes, for the first time, twin domain boundary (TDB) formations on the surface of WTe2 single crystal, which is glued by solidifying indium to Si substrate. In these TDB regions, a large inhomogeneous strain field, especially a critical shear strain of about 7%, is observed by geometric phase analysis. This observation does not obey the old believe that a small mechanical stress is sufficient to drive thermally-induced TDB formations in two-dimensional materials. To resolve the contradiction, we perform density functional theory calculations combined with elasticity theory analysis, which show that TDBs on WTe2 are entirely displacement-induced, for which a critical strain is necessary to overcome the onset barrier.


menu
Abstract
Full text
Outline
Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Formation mechanism of twin domain boundary in 2D materials: The case for WTe2

Show Author's information Guan-Yong Wang1,§, Weiyu Xie2,3,§, Dan Xu1, Hai-Yang Ma1, Hao Yang1, Hong Lu4, Hao-Hua Sun1, Yao-Yi Li1, Shuang Jia4, Liang Fu5, Shengbai Zhang2( ), Jin-Feng Jia1,6( )
Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education),School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University,Shanghai,200240,China;
Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA
Institute of Chemical Materials,China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), P. O. Box 919-327,Mianyang,621900,China;
International Center for Quantum Materials,School of Physics, Peking University,Beijing,100084,China;
Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai 200240, China

§ Guan-Yong Wang and Weiyu Xie contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study observes, for the first time, twin domain boundary (TDB) formations on the surface of WTe2 single crystal, which is glued by solidifying indium to Si substrate. In these TDB regions, a large inhomogeneous strain field, especially a critical shear strain of about 7%, is observed by geometric phase analysis. This observation does not obey the old believe that a small mechanical stress is sufficient to drive thermally-induced TDB formations in two-dimensional materials. To resolve the contradiction, we perform density functional theory calculations combined with elasticity theory analysis, which show that TDBs on WTe2 are entirely displacement-induced, for which a critical strain is necessary to overcome the onset barrier.

Keywords: density functional theory, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), strain, twin domain boundary, WTe2

References(36)

1

Manzeli, S.; Ovchinnikov, D.; Pasquier, D.; Yazyev, O. V.; Kis, A. 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. Nat. Rev. Mater. 2017, 2, 17033.
DOI Google Scholar
2

Liu, Y.; Weiss, N. O.; Duan, X. D.; Cheng, H. C.; Huang, Y.; Duan, X. F. Van der Waals heterostructures and devices. Nat. Rev. Mater. 2016, 1, 16042.
DOI Google Scholar
3

Li, W. B.; Li, J. Ferroelasticity and domain physics in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. Nat. Commun. 2016, 7, 10843.
DOI Google Scholar
4

Li, Y.; Duerloo, K. A. N.; Wauson, K.; Reed, E. J. Structural semiconductor-to-semimetal phase transition in two-dimensional materials induced by electrostatic gating. Nat. Commun. 2016, 7, 10671.
DOI Google Scholar
5

Lin, Y. C.; Dumcenco, D. O.; Huang, Y. S.; Suenaga, K. Atomic mechanism of the semiconducting-to-metallic phase transition in single-layered MoS2. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2014, 9, 391-396.
DOI Google Scholar
6

Barja, S.; Wickenburg, S.; Liu, Z. F.; Zhang, Y.; Ryu, H.; Ugeda, M. M.; Hussain, Z.; Shen, Z. X.; Mo, S. K.; Wong, E. et al. Charge density wave order in 1D mirror twin boundaries of single-layer MoSe2. Nat. Phys. 2016, 12, 751-756.
DOI Google Scholar
7

Liu, H. J.; Jiao, L.; Yang, F.; Cai, Y.; Wu, X. X.; Ho, W.; Gao, C. L.; Jia, J. F.; Wang, N.; Fan, H. et al. Dense network of one-dimensional midgap metallic modes in monolayer MoSe2 and their spatial undulations. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2014, 113, 066105.
DOI Google Scholar
8

Ugeda, M. M.; Pulkin, A.; Tang, S. J.; Ryu, H.; Wu, Q. S.; Zhang, Y.; Wong, D.; Pedramrazi, Z.; Martín-Recio, A.; Chen, Y. et al. Observation of topologically protected states at crystalline phase boundaries in single-layer WSe2. Nat. Commun. 2018, 9, 3401.
DOI Google Scholar
9

Song, S.; Keum, D. H.; Cho, S.; Perello, D.; Kim, Y.; Lee, Y. H. Room temperature semiconductor−metal transition of MoTe2 thin films engineered by strain. Nano Lett. 2016, 16, 188-193.
DOI Google Scholar
10

Kim, J. J.; Park, C.; Yamaguchi, W.; Shiino, O.; Kitazawa, K.; Hasegawa, T. Observation of a phase transition from the T phase to the H phase induced by a STM tip in 1T-TaS2. Phys. Rev. B 1997, 56, R15573.
DOI Google Scholar
11

Qian, X. F.; Liu, J. W.; Fu, L.; Li, J. Quantum spin Hall effect in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. Science 2014, 346, 1344-1347.
DOI Google Scholar
12

Duerloo, K. A. N.; Li, Y.; Reed, E. J. Structural phase transitions in two-dimensional Mo- and W-dichalcogenide monolayers. Nat. Commun. 2014, 5, 4214.
DOI Google Scholar
13

Mei, H. X.; Landis, C. M.; Huang, R. Concomitant wrinkling and buckle-delamination of elastic thin films on compliant substrates. Mech. Mater. 2011, 43, 627-642.
DOI Google Scholar
14

Quereda, J.; San-Jose, P.; Parente, V.; Vaquero-Garzon, L.; Molina-Mendoza, A. J.; Agrait, N.; Rubio-Bollinger, G.; Guinea, F.; Roldan, R.; Castellanos-Gomez, A. Strong modulation of optical properties in black phosphorus through strain-engineered rippling. Nano Lett. 2016, 16, 2931-2937.
DOI Google Scholar
15

van Swygenhoven, H.; Derlet, P. M.; Frøseth, A. G. Stacking fault energies and slip in nanocrystalline metals. Nat. Mater. 2004, 3, 399-403.
DOI Google Scholar
16

Roldán, R.; Castellanos-Gomez, A.; Cappelluti, E.; Guinea, F. Strain engineering in semiconducting two-dimensional crystals. J. Phys. Condens. Matter. 2015, 27, 313201.
DOI Google Scholar
17

Plechinger, G.; Castellanos-Gomez, A.; Buscema, M.; van der Zant, H. S. J.; Steele, G. A.; Kuc, A.; Heine, T.; Schüller, C.; Korn, T. Control of biaxial strain in single-layer molybdenite using local thermal expansion of the substrate. 2D Mater. 2015, 2, 015006.
DOI Google Scholar
18

Wu, Y. F.; Chew, A. R.; Rojas, G. A.; Sini, G.; Haugstad, G.; Belianinov, A.; Kalinin, S. V.; Li, H.; Risko, C.; Brédas, J. L. et al. Strain effects on the work function of an organic semiconductor. Nat. Commun. 2016, 7, 10270.
DOI Google Scholar
19

Castellanos-Gomez, A.; Roldán, R.; Cappelluti, E.; Buscema, M.; Guinea, F.; van der Zant, H. S. J.; Steele, G. A. Local strain engineering in atomically thin MoS2. Nano Lett. 2013, 13, 5361-5366.
DOI Google Scholar
20

Yang, S. X.; Wang, C.; Sahin, H.; Chen, H.; Li, Y.; Li, S. S.; Suslu, A.; Peeters, F. M.; Liu, Q.; Li, J. B. et al. Tuning the optical, magnetic, and electrical properties of ReSe2 by nanoscale strain engineering. Nano Lett. 2015, 15, 1660-1666.
DOI Google Scholar
21

Deng, S. K.; Berry, V. Wrinkled, rippled and crumpled graphene: An overview of formation mechanism, electronic properties, and applications. Mater. Today 2016, 19, 197-212.
DOI Google Scholar
22

Kushima, A.; Qian, X. F.; Zhao, P.; Zhang, S. L.; Li, J. Ripplocations in van der Waals layers. Nano Lett. 2015, 15, 1302-1308.
DOI Google Scholar
23

Ali, M. N.; Xiong, J.; Flynn, S.; Tao, J.; Gibson, Q. D.; Schoop, L. M.; Liang, T.; Haldolaarachchige, N.; Hirschberger, M.; Ong, N. P. et al. Large, non-saturating magnetoresistance in WTe2. Nature 2014, 514, 205-208.
DOI Google Scholar
24

Berry, J.; Zhou, S. S.; Han, J.; Srolovitz, D. J.; Haataja, M. P. Dynamic phase engineering of bendable transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers. Nano Lett. 2017, 17, 2473-2481.
DOI Google Scholar
25

Luo, S. W.; Hao, G. L.; Fan, Y. P.; Kou, L. Z.; He, C. Y.; Qi, X.; Tang, C.; Li, J.; Huang, K.; Zhong, J. X. Formation of ripples in atomically thin MoS2 and local strain engineering of electrostatic properties. Nanotechnology 2015, 26, 105705.
DOI Google Scholar
26

Hÿtch, M. J.; Snoeck, E.; Kilaas, R. Quantitative measurement of displacement and strain fields from HREM micrographs. Ultramicroscopy 1998, 74, 131-146.
DOI Google Scholar
27

Cullis, A. G.; Midgley, P. A. Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials 2007. Springer: Cambridge, UK, 2008; pp 199-202.
DOI Google Scholar
28

Azizi, A.; Zou, X. L.; Ercius, P.; Zhang, Z. H.; Elías, A. L.; Perea-López, N.; Stone, G.; Terrones, M.; Yakobson, B. I.; Alem, N. Dislocation motion and grain boundary migration in two-dimensional tungsten disulphide. Nat. Commun. 2014, 5, 4867.
DOI Google Scholar
29

Liu, Y.; Li, Y. Y.; Rajput, S.; Gilks, D.; Lari, L.; Galindo, P. L.; Weinert, M.; Lazarov, V. K.; Li, L. Tuning Dirac states by strain in the topological insulator Bi2Se3. Nat. Phys. 2014, 10, 294-299.
DOI Google Scholar
30

Vítek, V. Intrinsic stacking faults in body-centred cubic crystals. Philos. Mag. 1968, 18, 773-786.
DOI Google Scholar
31

Rice, J. R. Dislocation nucleation from a crack tip: An analysis based on the Peierls concept. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 1992, 40, 239-271.
DOI Google Scholar
32

Tadmor, E. B.; Hai, S. A Peierls criterion for the onset of deformation twinning at a crack tip. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 2003, 51, 765-793.
DOI Google Scholar
33

Tang, S.; Mahanti, S. D.; Kalia, R. K. Ferroelastic phase transition in two-dimensional molecular solids. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1986, 56, 484.
DOI Google Scholar
34

Ma, Y. J.; Diaz, H. C.; Avila, J.; Chen, C. Y.; Kalappattil, V.; Das, R.; Phan, M. H.; Čadež, T.; Carmelo, J. M. P.; Asensio, M. C. et al. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals spin charge separation in metallic MoSe2 grain boundary. Nat. Commun. 2017, 8, 14231.
DOI Google Scholar
35

van der Zande, A. M.; Huang, P. Y.; Chenet, D. A.; Berkelbach, T. C.; You, Y. M.; Lee, G. H.; Heinz, T. F.; Reichman, D. R.; Muller, D. A.; Hone, J. C. Grains and grain boundaries in highly crystalline monolayer molybdenum disulphide. Nat. Mater. 2013, 12, 554-561.
DOI Google Scholar
36

Tang, E.; Fu, L. Strain-induced partially flat band, helical snake states and interface superconductivity in topological crystalline insulators. Nat. Phys. 2014, 10, 964-969.
DOI Google Scholar
File
12274_2018_2255_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (2.6 MB)
Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 24 August 2018
Revised: 21 October 2018
Accepted: 25 November 2018
Published: 12 December 2018
Issue date: March 2019

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

We thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Nos. 2016YFA0301003 and 2016YFA0300403), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11521404, 11634009, U1632102, 11504230, 11674222, 11574202, 11674226, 11574201, 11655002, and U1632272) for partial support. W. Y. X. was supported by the National Science Foundation Award (No. DMR-1305293). S. B. Z. was supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) (No. DESC0002623). The supercomputer time sponsored by National energy aesearch scientific computing center (NERSC) under DOE contract (No. DE-AC02-05CH11231) and the Center for Computational Innovations (CCI) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) are also acknowledged. This project has been supported by a grant from Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (No. 16DZ2260200) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDB28000000).

G.-Y. W. conducted the STM experiments with the help from D. X., H-Y. M., H. Y. and H.-H. S.. J.-F. J. designed the experiments with the help from L. F. and S.-B. Z.. H. L. and S. J. grew the WTe2 single crystals. W. X. performed the first-principle calculations with the help of S.-B. Z.. G.-Y. W., W. X., S.-B. Z. and J.-F. J. wrote the paper. All authors participated in the discussions.

Return