Effects of disorder in ultrafast melting of a charge-density-wave in TixTa(1-x)S2

Chemical substitution in transition metal dichalogenides (TMDs) has long since attracted attention as an effective method of modifying the electronic landscape, such as the onset of superconductivity and the suppression of charge-density-wave order. However, it is yet unclear how the local disorder caused by chemical substitution can affect the melting of a charge-density-wave system when driven away from equilibrium. Here, we report our results of the effect of titanium substitution on the ultrafast melting of a prototypical charge-density-wave system, 1T-TaS2. Using time-resolved electron diffraction, we characterize the dynamics of the incommensurate charge-density-wave state in Ti_xTa_1-xS₂, in comparison to that of the pure compound, after pulsed photoexcitation. Our results may provide effective avenues for understanding the importance that disorder can have on locally pinning islands of charge-density-wave order, and the energy scales required to overcome such pinning potentials.