Atomistic origin of an ordered superstructure induced superconductivity in layered chalcogenides

Interplay among various collective electronic states such as charge density wave and superconductivity is of tremendous significance in low-dimensional electron systems. However, the atomistic and physical nature of the electronic structures underlying the interplay of exotic states, which is critical to clarifying its effect on remarkable properties of the electron systems, remains elusive, limiting our understanding of the superconducting mechanism. Here, we show evidence that an ordering of selenium and sulphur atoms surrounding tantalum within star-of-David clusters can boost superconductivity in a layered chalcogenide 1 T -TaS 2− x Se x , which undergoes a superconducting transition in the nearly commensurate charge density wave phase. Advanced electron microscopy investigations reveal that such an ordered superstructure forms only in the x area, where the superconductivity manifests, and is destructible to the occurrence of the Mott metal–insulator transition. The present findings provide a novel dimension in understanding the relationship between lattice and electronic degrees of freedom. The interplay between superconductivity, electron correlation and atomic ordering is at the heart of condensed-matter physics. Here, the authors demonstrate a link between superconductivity in the layered chalcogenide TaS 2− x Se x and the ordering of the sulphur and selenium atoms