Observation and Manipulation of a Phase Separated State in a Charge Density Wave Material

The 1T polytype of TaS₂ has been studied extensively as a strongly correlated system. As 1T-TaS₂ is thinned toward the 2D limit, its phase diagram shows significant deviations from that of the bulk material. Optoelectronic maps of ultrathin 1T-TaS₂ have indicated the presence of nonequilibrium charge density wave phases within the hysteresis region of the nearly commensurate (NC) to commensurate (C) transition. We perform scanning tunneling microscopy on exfoliated ultrathin flakes of 1T-TaS₂ within the NC-C hysteresis window, finding evidence that the observed nonequilibrium phases consist of intertwined, irregularly shaped NC-like and C-like domains. After applying lateral electrical signals to the sample, we image changes in the geometric arrangement of the different regions. We use a phase separation model to explore the relationship between electronic inhomogeneity present in ultrathin 1T-TaS₂ and its bulk resistivity. These results demonstrate the role of phase competition morphologies in determining the properties of 2D materials.