Transitions between photoinduced macroscopic quantum states in 1T-TaS₂controlled by substrate strain

Abstract

Controllable switching to and from metastable states of matter using electromagnetic fields could potentially revolutionize electronic logic and memory devices. Here, we investigate the effect of two-dimensional strain on switching between a photoinduced "hidden" state and a stable charge-ordered state in ultrathin 1T-TaS2 crystal films on different substrates, photoexcited by 35 fs laser pulses. The differential contraction of the sample and the substrate shows a very large and negative strain coefficient on the hidden state transition, implying that the stability of the hidden state could be markedly increased by tensile strain. Other transitions are not strongly affected by tensile strain.