Materials with reduced dimensionality often exhibit exceptional properties that are different from their bulk counterparts. Here we report the emergence of a commensurate 2 × 2 charge density wave (CDW) in monolayer and bilayer SnSe2 films by scanning tunneling microscope. The visualized spatial modulation of CDW phase becomes prominent near the Fermi level, which is pinned inside the semiconductor band gap of SnSe2. We show that both CDW and Fermi level pinning are intimately correlated with band bending and virtual induced gap states at the semiconductor heterointerface. Through interface engineering, the electron-density-dependent phase diagram is established in SnSe2. Fermi surface nesting between symmetry inequivalent electron pockets is revealed to drive the CDW formation and to provide an alternative CDW mechanism that might work in other compounds.
@article{arxiv.2102.07913,
title = {Charge density waves and Fermi level pinning in monolayer and bilayer SnSe$_2$},
author = {Shu-Ze Wang and Yi-Min Zhang and Jia-Qi Fan and Ming-Qiang Ren and Can-Li Song and Xu-Cun Ma and Qi-Kun Xue},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.07913},
year = {2021}
}