Atomically Thin Kagome-Structured Co<sub>9</sub>Te<sub>16</sub> Achieved through Self-Intercalation and Its Flat Band Visualization
Qilong Wu, Wenzhi Quan, Shuangyuan Pan, Jingyi Hu, Zehui Zhang, Jian Wang, Feipeng Zheng, Yanfeng Zhang
Abstract
Kagome materials have recently garnered substantial attention due to the intrinsic flat band feature and the stimulated magnetic and spin-related many-body physics. In contrast to their bulk counterparts, two-dimensional (2D) kagome materials feature more distinct kagome bands, beneficial for exploring novel quantum phenomena. Herein, we report the direct synthesis of an ultrathin kagome-structured Co-telluride (Co 9 Te 16 ) via a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) route and clarify its formation mechanism from the Co-intercalation in the 1T-CoTe 2 layers. More significantly, we unveil the flat band states in the ultrathin Co 9 Te 16 and identify the real-space localization of the flat band states by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) combined with first-principles calculations. A ferrimagnetic order is also predicted in kagome-Co 9 Te 16 . This work should provide a novel route for the direct synthesis of ultrathin kagome materials via a metal self-intercalation route, which should shed light on the exploration of the intriguing flat band physics in the related systems.