Charge density waves tuned by biaxial tensile stress

Abstract

Abstract The precise arrangement and nature of atoms drive electronic phase transitions in condensed matter. To explore this tenuous link, we developed a true biaxial mechanical deformation device working at cryogenic temperatures, compatible with x-ray diffraction and transport measurements, well adapted to layered samples. Here we show that a slight deformation of TbTe3 can have a dramatic influence on its Charge Density Wave (CDW), with an orientational transition from c to a driven by the a/c parameter, a tiny coexistence region near a = c, and without space group change. The CDW transition temperature T c displays a linear dependence with $$\left\vert a/c-1\right\vert$$ a / c − 1 while the gap saturates out of the coexistence region. This behaviour is well accounted for within a tight-binding model. Our results question the relationship between gap and T c in RTe3 systems. This method opens a new route towards the study of coexisting or competing electronic orders in condensed matter.