Evolution of electronic structure in pristine and hole-doped kagome metal RbV$_3$Sb$_5$

TL;DR

This study uses low-temperature STM to explore the atomic and electronic structures of RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, revealing a unique charge order, surface reconstructions, and a universal gap opening linked to orbital reconstruction, influenced by hole doping.

Contribution

First in situ STM investigation revealing charge order, surface reconstructions, and universal gap opening in RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, highlighting the effects of hole doping on electronic structure.

Findings

Discovery of a unidirectional $ oot{3}a_0$ charge order.

Surface reconstructions due to Rb desorption with temperature.

Universal gap opening near the Fermi level across different surfaces.

Abstract

We report on in situ low-temperature (4 K) scanning tunneling microscope measurements of atomic and electronic structures of the cleaved surfaces of an alkali-based kagome metal RbV$_3$Sb$_5$ single crystals. We find that the dominant pristine surface exhibits Rb-1x1 structure, in which a unique unidirectional $\sqrt{3}a_0$ charge order is discovered. As the sample temperature slightly rises, Rb-$\sqrt{3}$x1 and Rb-$\sqrt{3}$x$\sqrt{3}$ reconstructions form due to desorption of surface Rb atoms. Our conductance mapping results demonstrate that Rb desorption not only gives rise to hole doping, but also renormalizes the electronic band structures. Surprisingly, we find a ubiquitous gap opening near the Fermi level in tunneling spectra on all the surfaces despite their large differences of hole-carrier concentration, indicating an orbital-selective band reconstruction in RbV$_3$Sb$_5$.