Squeezed metallic droplet with tunable Kubo gap and charge injection in transition metal dichalcogenides

We propose an approach to realize Kubo gap in 2D nanodomains, which mimics three-dimensional (3D) metallic droplets squeezed into atomically thin 2D space. We demonstrate 1H/1T' phase transition of the MoTe₂ nanodomain driven by strain and excess carriers, and a strong anisotropy for a ballistic injection of carriers. Breaking away from traditional trend of focusing almost exclusively on 3D metal clusters for producing Kubo gap, our work reveals the possibility of Kubo gap production in 2D systems like MoTe₂. By overcoming the intrinsic limitations of the former, this approach can bring about potential technical possibilities, as well as new scientific activities related to the Kubo-gapped systems, such as efficient quantum emitters and catalysis, and reconfigurable devices.