Thinner GdTe₃ supports a charge density wave at higher temperatures
Temperature-dependent Raman spectra placed the transition at 377 K in a bulk crystal and 431 K in a flake about 10 nm thick.
Yani Chen and colleagues tracked Raman spectra as they varied the temperature of bulk and exfoliated GdTe₃. Calculations of lattice vibrations helped them distinguish ordinary vibrational peaks from features associated with charge density wave order.
In a flake about 10 nm thick, those features persisted to a temperature 54 K higher than in the bulk crystal. Liyuan Zhang at SUSTech co-authored the study.