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Condensed Matter; Strongly Correlated Electrons; plasmons; electro-energy-loss-spectroscopy; layered-materials; PACS numbers: 71.45.Lr, 71.45.Gm, 79.20.Uv, 73.21.Ac
Abstract:
We examine the experimental and theoretical electron-energy loss spectra in 2H--Cu0.2NbS2 and find that the 1 eV plasmon in this material does not exhibit the regular positive quadratic plasmon dispersion that would be expected for a normal broad-parabolic-band system. Instead we find a nearly non-dispersing plasmon in the momentum-transfer range q < 0.35 Å-1. We argue that for a stoichiometric pure 2H-NbS2 the dispersion relation is expected to have a negative slope as is the case for other transition-metal dichalcogenides. The presence of Cu impurities, required to stabilize the crystal growth, tends to shift the negative plasmon dispersion into a positive one, but the doping level in the current system is small enough to result in a nearly-non-dispersing plasmon. We conclude that a negative-slope plasmon dispersion is not connected with the existence of a charge-density-wave order in transition metal dichalcogenides.
