Charge density waves in individual nanoribbons of orthorhombic-TaS₃

Orthorhombic-TaS₃ is a quasi-1D material that undergoes a Peierls' transition to become a charge density wave conductor at low temperatures. Electrical transport measurements of individual single-crystalline TaS₃ nanoribbons prepared by a novel bottom-up method from elemental precursors indicate a depression of the Peierls' ordering temperature to 205 K, broadening of the electric-field-induced depinning of the charge density wave below the Peierls' transition temperature, and a greatly increased threshold voltage for nucleation of charge density wave dislocations posited to be a result of surface confinement and finite size effects. Single-nanoribbon measurements of broad-band noise indicate discrete phase slip events near the depinning threshold. Three distinct regimes are identified with the normalized noise spectrum showing a distinctive maxima near the threshold voltage for depinning of the charge density wave, corresponding to sampling of different metastable states that balance ordered and sliding charge density waves.